


Even with the Odds

by milkbreadtrash



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Fluff and Humor, Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma Friendship, Kozume Kenma is a Good Friend, Like really slow, M/M, Minor Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Minor Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Oblivious Oikawa Tooru, Pining Hinata Shouyou, Romance, Slow Burn, impromptu staring contest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:18:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 54,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22030123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkbreadtrash/pseuds/milkbreadtrash
Summary: The first time Hinata crossed paths with Oikawa Tooru, he fell into the hopeless void of falling for someone who would never see him as more than just an enemy in the court. Now, 2 years after giving up on the love that will never be returned, it seems like all his efforts will be undone by the very same boy that he’s been trying hard to forget.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 236
Kudos: 641
Collections: haikyuu





	1. Chapter 1

If someone was asked to describe Oikawa Tooru, a variety of compliments will be heard (mostly his female fans) and a mixture of complaints regarding his unpleasant personality disguised as backhanded compliments to hide that they respect him deep inside (ie; his closest friends and volleyball rivals).  


But, in the eyes of Hinata Shouyou he was always perfect.  


He was the epitome of what an athlete is for Hinata. No matter how everyone else says that Ushijima was the Super ace of their generation, no one else can rival the passion in Oikawa’s eyes whenever he’s on the court, except for Hinata himself probably.  


When Hinata first laid eyes on Oikawa, he was every bit the intimidation that Kageyama painted him out to be. He was the trump card in that dreaded first practice match that turned the tides with such great force, it’s as if they were hit by a tsunami.  


And he did it all with just his serves.  


If Hinata weren’t able to pull out his godlike quick with Kageyama, they would have probably lost that practice match. But, it was enough of a wake-up call to their entire team that they have a lot of work to do if they want to be in the same league with these teams.  


Of course, there was that whole waiting for their team at the gates fiasco that Oikawa did. Basically, declaring war on Kageyama and pointing out every imperfection that their team has, including Hinata’s inexperience.  


Although, it was the tiny compliment that Oikawa sent Hinata’s way after practically pronouncing their imminent failure in the future that Hinata focused on. Enough to send him blushing and inexplicably thrilled that a great volleyball player such as Oikawa said that he has potential.  


After that, Karasuno worked hard to the bone and got back the remaining key players that will complete their aspiring team.  


Every now and then, Hinata thinks of Oikawa. His perfect form and his terrifying serves and his pretty face that is almost like that of a girl’s that makes Hinata feel things which makes him so confused.  


_Maybe it’s just because Kageyama looked up to him too._ Hinata reasons with himself. After all he begrudgingly admired his rival-turned-partner before they became teammates.  


_Not like this, though._ Hinata’s brain traitorously supplied, that he immerses himself in practice until he’s bone-tired and forgets that he ever thought of the boy with the smile that sadly doesn’t reach his eyes.  
~ 

With an unexpected turn of events, Karasuno faces Aoba Johsai in a real match this time. Hinata’s beating heart spikes up upon seeing Oikawa again. Maybe this time he can finally get answers as to why he can’t seem to take the intimidating captain out of his mind.  


All it did was confused him even more though. He’s torn between being pissed off with the way that Oikawa kept glaring at him which seems to intensify everytime he’s on the front line and being in awe with how talented of a player the other boy was. Kageyama may be a genius, but it’s obvious whose the more experienced with the way that Oikawa controls the match.  


In the end, Karasuno lost the game and it was such a devastating feeling that Hinata forgot to function for awhile. If their coach didn’t force them to eat, Hinata would probably had to have had his mom pick him up for he can’t seem to move his legs.  


During that night, Hinata cried for a different reason though. He finally figured out what he feels for Oikawa and the answer terrifies him to his very core. For he may fallen for someone who sees him as nothing more as someone to eliminate while Hinata seems to worship him at his feet.  
~

The prospect of winning the Spring Tournament brought back life to the Karasuno team, even at the expense of Hinata and Kageyama not talking for awhile with how intense everyone was on wanting to improve.  


It was worth it though. Hinata met a lot of great players, gained new experiences and most of all, improved on his god-like quick with the legendary Coach Ukai that brought the first Karasuno team to the nationals. He can proudly say that he can stand on the court alone now, no matter if Kageyama was there or not.  


Hinata forgot about Oikawa for awhile. But, not trusting himself that he’s completely moved on. Whether he likes it or not, he knows that their teams will face again and he’s not about to let his feelings for the other boy to completely ruin everything that his team has done in order to win.  
~

Everyone seems to look at Karasuno differently now at the start of Spring Tournament qualifiers after they almost won against Seijoh last time. Hinata also can’t help but feel proud everytime he hears “watch out for number 10” and it seemed like some teams even researched him. And with how all their cogs seem to function perfectly, they made it to the second round.  


With Hinata’s luck with bathrooms, of course he runs into Oikawa along with Seijoh’s ace Iwaizumi. Hinata feels a flare of jealousy upon seeing Iwaizumi standing beside Oikawa and he can’t help but compare himself to the other guy and come up short. After all Iwaizumi’s taller, the team’s ace and from what Kageyama tells, has been Oikawa’s friend since elementary.  


But, he feels full of shame upon hearing the next words coming from Iwaizumi. “Congratulations on defeating the 2 meters guy.”  


Here he was thinking shallow thoughts while Iwaizumi was showing perfectly what a good sportsmanship looks like. So Hinata bowed lowly and said “Thank you, Iwaizumi-san.”  


In Hinata’s inner turmoil, he didn’t notice that Oikawa was glaring at him until Hinata dared to look at his face, to which Oikawa smirked and began elbowing Iwaizumi on the side. “Ne, Iwa-chan. Let’s bury Chibi-chan’s body now while no one’s looking.”  


Iwaizumi just swatted him on the head and said “Don’t be stupid, Shittykawa.”  


Seeing all this, Hinata seriously started to doubt his luck for falling for someone with such a childish personality and never noticed that he started observing the object of his affections with his eyebrows furrowed.  


When Oikawa felt Hinata studying him, he narrowed his eyes back and seemed to start a staring contest. Meanwhile, Iwaizumi started to look back and forth between them and saw something that rarely happens but is possible. “Huh.”  


This seemed to break Hinata out of his trance and the sudden staring contest with Oikawa and noticed that Iwaizumi was looking between the two of them now with an all-knowing smile. _Oh no._  


“Good luck on your games!” Hinata says hurriedly and dashed back to his teammates with his heart trying to break out of his chest. Out of all people that should notice his ill-fated crush, he hit the jackpot with Oikawa’s bestfriend.  


“Really Shouyou? You wished them luck? Let’s see how that backfires on you later.” Hinata started telling himself when he was nearing his teammates.  


“Oi dumbass! Why are you talking to yourself?” Kageyama asked out of the blue.  


“N-nothing! Just nervous!” Hinata shrieks.  


Kageyama just glared at him and walked away and Hinata was left with a racing heart and a feeling in his gut that he may have done something that he’ll regret in the future.  
~  


Playing in the second round was completely different than the first. The teams were stronger and the danger of being eliminated was on another level. Hinata even got to play against someone whose style was just like the Little Giant’s. But, most of all Hinata gets to do this.  


This being able to watch Oikawa Tooru play volleyball without feeling guilty for admiring him because it’s not Karasuno that they’re playing against.  


And everytime Oikawa successfully lands those powerful serves of his on the opponent’s court, he can’t help but cheer (on the inside).  


Seing Oikawa in his element, Hinata can’t help but be reminded why he developed such an insane crush on the tall setter.  


He’s a very talented athlete and from what Hinata’s seen, also a good leader with the way he commands respect from his team.  


He’s ridiculously attractive (if you ignore his horrible personality).  


And most of all, he’s popular among the girls which means he can pick whoever he wants to date. And the chances of Hinata being one of those is slim to none with the way Oikawa’s been giving him the I-wanna-pummel-you-to-the-ground vibes and of course there is the main issue of Hinata being _male._  


Needless to say, the odds were never in his favor.  


The signal of the match ending broke Hinata out of his pity party. Dateko held up on their own but, they were still no match against Seijoh. And now, Karasuno’s about to play against them in another match.  


All of a sudden, Oikawa’s eyes were on him. Almost like he knows exactly where Hinata’s location is.  


_Does he know I’ve been staring at him this whole time?_  


Hinata feeling that he’s about to hyperventilate looked at Kageyama beside him on the off-chance that maybe he was the one that Oikawa’s staring at.  


But, noooo… It’s seems like Kageyama’s having his own staring contest with that turnip-head guy from his former team.  


Hinata stupidly looked back at Oikawa and Oikawa being the all-knowing tease that he is. _Smirked._  


_Well, shit._  


Hinata abruptly looked away and sought out Suga. “Suga-senpai, when are we leaving?”  


“We’re leaving now, so we can be ready for tomorrow’s match.” Suga suddenly looked at him with concern. “Don’t be so nervous Hinata. We can totally win against Seijoh tomorrow.”  


“Don’t worry Shouyou! Your senpai totally has your back.” Nishinoya piped in.  


“Ahaha. You’re right. Yeah. Hahahahahaha.” Hinata says.  


His teammates still look worried for him but decided to let him be. It’s better for them to think that he’s nervous about tomorrow’s game (well, he is) but, at the moment he’s worried about Oikawa’s perceptive gaze.  


The last thing he needs is for his crush to know about his feelings when they’re about to face off in a game.  
~

Facing off against Seijoh for the second, third time? was terrifying. If Nekoma was their sworn rivals, it seems like Seijoh were their Archenemies. Everyone was tense and hyperfocused that someone could mistake this game like it’s the finals.  


But, finals or not. Hinata and the rest of Karasuno gave their all and their hard work from diving all the time at training camp for losing their games bore fruit and now they won the game.  


Hinata was careful to avoid looking Oikawa in the eyes now (it’s not like he could). He has mixed feelings about the whole thing. On the one hand, he’s so happy about their team winning and on the other, he’s sad that he may just have ended his crush’s high school volleyball career.  


It’s not like he could purposely lose the game. He could never forgive himself if he did that. But, if delivering that final hit (towards Oikawa no less) didn’t seal his fate of Oikawa ever feeling something more for him other than hatred, he doesn’t know what will.  


Oikawa may just hate him more than Kageyama and Ushijima now.  
~

They won and it is a feat of itself. Karasuno won against the No. 1 team and the reigning champions for years in their prefecture. It was like they were a brand new team, so different than their first game at interhighs. Even Tsukishima was different, _especially Tsukishima._  


Everyone in their team was so happy and the third years were crying and Hinata knows he will remember this moment for the rest of his life.  


As they were lining up to receive their medals, Hinata saw the familiar back of Oikawa Tooru pushing Iwaizumi towards the exit.  


_He came to watch._  


Hinata instantly went rigid and suddenly can’t wait for the awarding ceremony to finish.  


_If I can catch him, maybe I can still tell him…_  


Hinata has never prayed for an exit to be more congested in his life.  


_Please, don’t leave yet. I still need to tell you…_  


They were all asked to take a group photo now and Hinata’s eyes kept looking back and forth between the camera and Oikawa.  


“Oi dumbass! What’s wrong with you?” Kageyama suddenly asked.  


“N-nothing!” Hinata replies.  


When Hinata looked back to where Oikawa was, he wasn’t there anymore.  


_No…_  


The photographer announced that they were done and Hinata’s just waiting for the right time for it to not be considered rude to hightail it out there.  


“Okay! Let’s get our stuff and go to the bus.” Coach Ukai says.  


“Coach! I need to go to the bathroom!” Hinata asked very loudly that had Tsukishima in snickering fit.  


“Um... Okay, just make it fast.” Coach Ukai replies.  


And Hinata had never ran so fast in his life after that.  


_Please be there… Please be there…_  


When Hinata made it outside, his eyes made a sweep over the crowd looking for that jacket and broad back, until he saw him talking animatedly with Iwaizumi.  


_Bingo!_  


Hinata made a run for it again, considering they were already pretty far.  


When Hinata was getting closer to them, he saw that they were about to cross the road and he made the choice of doing what he did best. He yelled. Very Loud.  


“OIKAWA-SAN!!!”  


Oikawa and Iwaizumi both turned around with shock on their faces and with how wide open Oikawa’s mouth is, Hinata guessed that it’s because it’s actually the first time he called Oikawa by his name instead of his made up nickname for him. Hinata walked closer until he was right in front of them, panting loudly.  


Iwaizumi being the nice guy ever instantly understood the situation and gave them privacy. “I’ll wait for you at the station.”  


“W-what? Don’t leave me here Iwa-chan!” Oikawa replies.  


Iwaizumi just waved from behind and crossed the road.  


Suddenly Oikawa turned towards Hinata and he has never seen someone with that angry expression on their face. “What do you want? Come to gloat?”  


“N-no! I just… Um…” Hinata says nervously.  


“What? Come-on, I don’t have all the time.”  


“D-do you have any tips for me? For you know? Um… nationals?” _Oh no. Why did I say that?!_  


If Oikawa looked angry before, he was livid now. “You’re seriously asking me for tips now?”  


_Shit. This is getting way out of hand._  


“No! I just… I need to tell you something.”  


“What?”  


“I just… Um… I…” Oikawa raised his eyebrow.  


“I…” Oikawa began tapping his foot impatiently.  


Hinata was getting worried. He can’t seem to say what he wants. What he really feels.  


_I miss you._  


_Can we be friends?_  


_Please don’t hate me._  


_I love you…_  


Oikawa hands were on his hips now and was looking at Hinata like he's so pathetic.  


And this has always been what Hinata's feared, for Oikawa to look at him like this.  


So, with a heavy heart, Hinata clenched his fist and bowed lowly to hide away his tears. “I know you don’t want to hear this. But, I just want to say that playing against you has taught me a lot and I just want to thank you for everything.”  


Hinata never heard what Oikawa had to say to that because he ran away so fast.  


When he found a secluded corner, that’s when he finally let out all the emotions that he’s been trying hard to suppress and cried out all his pain.  


His heart hurts with how much he wants to say but knows he can’t. Because he knows that Oikawa already hates him and confessing his feelings may just make Oikawa disgusted with him.  


The odds of Oikawa reciprocating his feelings or even just wanting to be his friend were never in his favor anyway.  


They never will be.  
~

Hinata changed after that. Sure, he was still the sunshine decoy star of Karasuno whose passion towards volleyball inspires everyone to improve themselves too. But, it was the subtle hints that only people who watched Hinata closely such as Kageyama and Suga can tell that something may have happened.  


Every once in a while, Hinata’s smile would falter and the light in his eyes dims a little bit. Almost like he finds no reason to be happy except for volleyball anymore.  


Nobody else noticed because Hinata’s world used to revolve around volleyball anyway but, when they were preparing for nationals Hinata seems too into the zone sometimes. Like he was using volleyball as an escape instead of playing it to enjoy.  


They just hope they’d get their sunshine player back someday.  
~

**2 years later…**

Hinata woke up to his little sister’s crushing weight on top of him.  


“Nii-chan, please don’t leave.” _Oh boy._  


Hinata pinched his sister’s now wet cheeks. “Natsu… we talked about this. You know Nii-chan has to leave for university.”  


His sister just responded with more sniffling and Hinata sighed. “I promise to go home in the holidays and I’ll call every weekend, okay?”  


“You promise? You won’t let Bakageyama steal all of your time again?”  


Hinata laughed at that. “No… besides Kageyama’s going to another school anyway.”  


“Really? Okay! But, you promise to call all the time okay?”  


“I promise.”  


“Yay!” His sister gave him a crushing hug afterwards and they both went downstairs for a goodbye breakfast with his family.  


After his mother made him double check that he packed everything that he needed, they drove him to the train station. Hinata can’t help but smile while looking at the places where he used to ride his bike to school, all while thinking about the tall walls that he had to break.  


They had another tearful goodbye with Natsu refusing to let go of him at the train station. When his parents finally convinced his sister to release him, he stepped inside the train with a final wave to his family and a smile on his face.  


He’s sad to leave his family and the town where he grew up in, but he’s also very excited for this new chapter in his life.  


A clean slate.  


Well, as clean as it can be with Kenma and Kuroo also going to the same university. He and Kenma stayed close all these years by staying in contact by texting and skype and he’s fairly close with Kuroo, being Kenma’s boyfriend and all.  


When the trains finally reached his station, Hinata stood up right away, excited to move his body that’s unused to not moving for so long and picked up his belongings.  


When Hinata got out of the train, his eyes started looking for the two-colored hair of his bestfriend that he’s still too lazy to dye back every once in awhile. Once he spotted him playing his PSP at a bench, Hinata ran up to him excitedly.  


“Kenma!” At the sound of his name, Kenma finally looked away from his game and gave Hinata a small smile.  


Hinata promptly dropped his bags and tackled Kenma into a hug. “Ugh! You’re heavy Shouyou. You’re just as worst as Kuroo with greetings.”  


“Sorry! I’m just excited that we’re finally in the same school!”  


After Hinata finally let go of Kenma, Hinata picked up his bags and they took a cab to their university.  


“So, I know no one from Karasuno goes to our school. But, aside from you and Kuroo is there anyone else I know who goes there?” Hinata asked.  


Kenma suddenly averted his eyes and looked outside the window. “Bokuto goes there too.”  


Hinata gasps upon hearing Bokuto’s name. “Oh cool! I like Bokuto! Anyone else I know?”  


Kenma became silent for awhile and looked intently at the taxi’s floor. “No… Just Bokuto.”  


Hinata sensed something a little off with Kenma’s answer but decided to let it go. “Okay! We’re gonna have so much fun Kenma!”  


Kenma just gave him a small smile which is the equivalent of a raise the roof gesture for Kenma.  


Hinata had a huge grin on his face while looking at the streets of Tokyo. Maybe he just found the place where he can finally be happy.  
~

Hinata jumped awake at the sound of his alarm. His body still unused to waking up so early after the summer break and settling inside the dorms.  


He looked at the bed beside him and saw that it was already well made and empty. Hinata met his roommate a few days ago, a guy named Asato Hiroki. He seemed cool and someone Hinata can see himself becoming close to.  


With a groan, Hinata got up from his bed and got ready for the day. After showering and getting dressed, he looked at himself in the mirror and smiled.  


Today was his first day in university. A new chapter of his life begins.  


Hinata went out of his dorm and grabbed a quick breakfast from the cafeteria. No time for a big meal because he had an 8 a.m. class. Worst of all, the subject was statistics.  


Kuroo laughed at him and called him suicidal.  


But, Hinata wanted to get it out of the way. After all, he had more difficult subjects to worry about if he wanted to finish the course of sports medicine.  


When he finally got inside the classroom, Hinata saw that half of his classmates were already there. At least he wasn’t late.  


After the bell rang, their professor came in after a few minutes and introduced himself.  


“Good morning class! I will be your teacher for Statistics 101 and my name is Fujimoto Genzo. Now, since there are almost fifty students in this class, I will be having an assistant.”  


A tall guy came in and the girls in the class started giggling excitedly.  


But, for Hinata whose posture became instantly rigid, it might have been the worst thing he’s ever seen.  


_No no no_  


“Okay class, for this semester’s Statistics 101…”  


_Why is he here?_  


“The teacher’s assistant will be…”  


_This can’t be happening…_  


“Oikawa Tooru.”  


Hinata didn’t hear what the rest of his Professor said for his ears may have been filled with static and his heart started to palpitate.  


“Hello everyone, I’m excited to be your T.A. for this semester. Please take care of me.” Oikawa says and bowed afterwards and then smiled at them while roaming his eyes all over the students.  


Hinata’s panic gets worse each second as Oikawa seems determined to look each and every single one of them in the eyes. But, once again luck wasn’t on his side as Hinata saw the exact moment that Oikawa’s smile faltered as their eyes locked together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What can I say? I'm a sucker for cliffhangers. Haha. Anyways, I'm back with an OiHina fic because I've actually had this plot in my head for so long and I just had to birth it to the universe, haha. I hope you enjoy this rollercoaster ride with me and I promise to try updating every week. :)))


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hinata meets an old rival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for everyone who started to support this fic. They motivate me more to keep writing!
> 
> Anyways, this chapter is a bit short and super angsty.
> 
> Will update more next week! XD

Time seemed to stop for a moment. Oikawa kept staring at Hinata intently and Hinata just opted not to breathe altogether.  


A few more seconds of this and Hinata's lungs just might really forget how to function and decided to avert his eyes from Oikawa. Hinata dug his nails in his arm to register pain, just in case this might wake him up from this nightmare.  


Hinata looked back to where Oikawa was and saw that he was still there staring at Hinata.  


_Well, this is just fucking fantastic._  


Hinata decided to focus on his professor instead, all the while never looking at Oikawa’s direction even though he can totally feel Oikawa’s eyes on him the whole time.  


The second the bell rang, Hinata was the first one to get up and leave and raced back to his dorm.  
~

Hinata slammed the door upon entering his room and let his body fall face first on the bed. After 2 years of doing everything he can just to forget Oikawa, he just shows up out of nowhere and in his first class on the first day of school no less.  


Hinata thinks life seems determined to screw him over because just when he thought he’s finally moved on, this happens. He even made Kageyama and Kenma, the only two people who knew he had feelings for Oikawa to never mention his name and anything about him.  


Feeling the familiar sadness that’s about to take him over, Hinata’s eyes burned and the tears that he’s been trying to hold up started to fall on his face. Hinata screamed his frustrations on his pillow, remembering all those times he felt helpless because of Oikawa.  


Hinata felt his chest constricting due to pain. Hinata always found it hard to breathe whenever Oikawa was around, but now it’s just painful.  


Of all the horrible things that happened to Hinata though, the questions that he’s been thinking all this time is…  


_Why does it still hurt?_  


_How come the memories can fade, but the pain still lingers?_  


After a few minutes, Hinata forced himself to breathe normally and wiped his face from his tears. He needed to clear his head and think of the more pressing issues at the moment.  


Like, how the hell is he suppose to do this for a whole semester?  


_No! How the hell can I survive for the next 2 years with Oikawa around the campus?_  


Remembering that his friend just lives nearby, Hinata called Kenma. After a few rings, Kenma answered.  


_“Hello?”_  


“Hey Kenma, can I come over?”  


_“Sure, I’ll just be here. I don’t have classes till the evening.”_  


“Great. I’m on my way.”  


Hinata ended the call and dragged his miserable self to Kenma and Kuroo’s apartment where he might get some answers.  
~

Hinata knocked harshly on Kenma’s door and when the door was opened, Kenma’s eyes went wide upon seeing Hinata’s red rimmed eyes.  


“Did you know?” Hinata asks.  


Kenma kept silent and looked at the ground.  


“Did you know _he_ was here?” Hinata asked again. His desperation leaking out of his voice this time.  


His friend still remaining silent, Hinata thinks he found the answer and angrily pushed Kenma out of the way and went inside the apartment.  


“Why didn’t you tell me?!”  


“I thought it would be good for you.” Kenma answered with a guilty expression on his face.  


“Really?!” Hinata laughed sarcastically. “You thought it would be good for me to be in the same place with the guy I’ve been trying hard to forget? Now, not only are we in the same school, turns out he’s my TA in one of my subjects!”  


Kenma seemed surprised at that and said “I’m just worried about you Shouyou. You’ve only ever loved two things, volleyball and Oikawa. And now that volleyball’s gone for you…”  


Hinata scoffs. “I don’t exactly have _him_ either.”  


Kenma just stared at him and Hinata suddenly feeling tired started to walk out of Kenma’s apartment. “I’m going.”  


“Shouyou, wait.” Kenma called after Hinata but he just kept walking out. Kenma was beginning to panic that he may have ruined his friendship with Hinata and ran after him.  


“I just want to be in the same place with my bestfriend for once!” Kenma blurts out.  


Hinata halted in his tracks and turned around. Upon seeing tears in his bestfriend’s eyes, Hinata felt a twinge in his heart and sighed wearily. “I thought Kuroo was your bestfriend.”  


“Kuroo’s the love of my life. _You’re_ my bestfriend.”  


Hinata really can’t stay mad after that and grinned at his bestfriend. “Fine, I forgive you. But, please don’t do something like this to me again.”  


“I promise.” Kenma replies with his lips curling up to a smile. “I’ll support whatever decision that you make from here on out.”  


They both went back inside and dropped their bodies ceremoniously on the couch. “What are you gonna do about Oikawa?” Kenma asks.  


“I’m transferring to another class.”  


Kenma’s eyes went wide at Hinata’s answer. “Are you sure? Maybe this is finally your chance with him.”  


Hinata exhales loudly. “I never stood a chance with him to begin with. Not in highschool and definitely not now.”  
~

Hinata spent the entire morning in the library trying to figure out how to work his class schedule, now that he’s transferring to another statistics class. Suddenly, someone pulls the chair in front of him and heard the voice that has always sent shivers down his spine.  


“Is this seat taken?”  


Hinata’s stupid little heart started to race like crazy and looked up and saw that it is Oikawa Tooru probably sent from hell to ruin his peaceful life.  


“No.”  


Oikawa gave Hinata an intense gaze and it felt like his eyes were boring holes on Hinata’s head. “You weren’t in class this morning.”  


_Huh._  


Of all the things Hinata thought he would talk about with Oikawa if they ever saw each other again, _Him_ skipping class was definitely not one of them. And from their last conversation two years ago, Hinata didn’t think that Oikawa would actually care.  


“That’s because I’m transferring to another one.”  


Oikawa seemed taken aback with Hinata’s answer and suddenly launched on a tirade. “What?! Why? Is it because I’m the TA? Don’t worry, I’m not gonna sabotage your grades because we’re on the same team now and besides, I never really hated you anyway, just Tobio-chan.”  


Hinata just stared at Oikawa with a look on his face that says he doesn’t believe him one bit.  


Oikawa sighed knowing he’s been caught lying. “Okay fine, maybe I hated you a little bit cause you wreaked havoc on my dreams of crushing my enemies.”  


Hinata winced at Oikawa’s words. Now he knows there’s a difference between suspecting and actually knowing that the guy he had feelings for hated him.  


Feeling his heart slowly breaking, Hinata gathered up his things before he loses what’s left of his pride and cries in front of Oikawa when a hand suddenly stops him.  


“Wait… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.” Oikawa looked pleadingly at Hinata. “It’s just that you were so good in high school and you were in my way… It was just the normal thing to feel.”  


Right. It was only normal to hate your opponent in the court. What was wrong with Hinata then?  


Hinata took his arm away from Oikawa’s grasp. His lingering touch felt like it burned. Wanting to end the conversation already, Hinata resorted to lying. “It’s not that. It just doesn’t work in my schedule.”  


“Is it because of volleyball practice? I’m sure we can work something out with coach.” Oikawa asks.  


A sad look took over Hinata’s face. “I don’t play volleyball anymore.”  


Oikawa was shocked at Hinata’s revelation. “But, you’re the little giant… You have to play volleyball. I _know_ you love playing volleyball.”  


“You don’t know anything about me Oikawa-san.” Hinata says while looking Oikawa in the eyes. “And you never will. Because you and I will never be on the same team.”  


Hinata walks away from a stunned Oikawa and tells himself that he’s doing the right thing. But, he can’t help but think that he just made a big mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I wanna write an angsty fic.
> 
> Me: Writes the 2nd chapter. All pure angst.
> 
> Also me: How did it get like this?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hinata realizes his type are manipulative, egotistical, tall and handsome assholes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of an early update because I'll be spending the weekend in the home of our HQ boys...JAPAN! Hope to watch the start of Season 4 there. Who else is pumped? AHHHHHHHHHH!!!
> 
> Anyways, this chapter is lighter than last time. Hope you guys enjoy! :)

Kenma was already at the restaurant they agreed to meet at when Hinata got there. Although as usual, Kenma has no problem waiting alone as long as he has his PSP with him.  


Hinata tapped Kenma on the shoulder. “Hey, Kenma! Where’s Kuroo?”  


Kenma looked away from his game. “He said he’s on the way.”  


“Oh. Okay.” Hinata took in the bustling activity inside the restaurant. “So, what do you recommend to eat here?”  


“Their ramen and gyoza are pretty good.”  


“Oooooooh…” Hinata picked up the menu and looked engrossingly over the pages. Which is why he didn’t notice Kuroo arrived until he spoke.  


“Hey, guys!”  


Hinata looked up and saw with great horror that Kuroo wasn’t alone.  


“Hi Ken-chan!” Oikawa greets Kenma and turned to look at Hinata with a suspicious glint in his eyes. “Hello, Chibi-chan!”  


Hinata’s eyes went wide with shock and turned to look at Kenma and saw that he was just as surprised as he was.  


“Kuroo?” Kenma asks.  


“Yeah, this guy wanted to come along when he heard you guys were here.” Kuroo replies.  


Hinata narrowed his eyes at Oikawa when he heard that and Oikawa just smiled wickedly at him.  


_Oh no._ Hinata knows that look. That’s the look Oikawa had when he figured out their signals on their first game. Looks like the Grand King is back and he’s definitely planning something. And that something is sure as hell, bad news for Hinata.  


Everything became so much worse when Oikawa plopped down beside Hinata. “So, how are you guys?”  


Hinata pales and looks at Kenma with panic. But, it seems his friend is also at a lost on what to do. Hinata can’t exactly just leave without it seeming suspicious. And anything suspicious attracts Kuroo like a cat to a catnip.  


“Shouldn’t you know? I thought you’re a TA on one of Hinata’s classes?” Kuroo pipes in.  


“Well, I was… until Chibi-chan here decided he wanted to transfer to another class.” Oikawa replies. His smile growing wider while Hinata’s face just went paler.  


Kuroo suddenly focused all his attention at Hinata. “Why? Can’t stand to look at this guy’s face all day?”  


“Hey!” Oikawa exclaims.  


“N-No! There was just a problem with my schedule and I had to switch classes.” Hinata lies hurriedly.  


“Really? Can you tell us more about this _rigid_ schedule of yours Chibi-chan?” Oikawa asks. The glint in his eyes are back.  


Hinata narrowed his eyes at Oikawa menacingly. And based from history, Oikawa is never one to back away from a staring contest.  


Kuroo looked between the two of them and smirked. “Huh. Iwaizumi was right.”  


“What?” They both said in unison.  


“Nothing. Let’s just order something to eat or else Kenma will never eat anything until he passes out.”  


Oikawa finally left Hinata alone after that, but Hinata knows this is far from over. And based on Oikawa’s annoying behavior and Kuroo’s smirk while looking at them, Hinata knows his university life in hell just started.  
~

Hinata woke up early the next day and went straight to the class registrar’s office. He needed to transfer out of the class with Oikawa soon or else he’s gonna lose his mind. He can’t take anymore of those knowing smirks and suspicious stares that Oikawa’s so inclined to give him.  


And isn’t it ironic how Hinata would have liked all this attention from Oikawa years ago?  


Hinata pushed open the door to the office and saw a stern-looking woman at the counter. He swallowed nervously and started to fidget with his shirt. He suddenly remembered that he had no idea how to do this at all. He really should have brought Kenma with him.  


“U-um, excuse me maam?” The woman across the counter looked up and narrowed her eyes at him.  


_Great. Looks like I’m off to a good start._  


Hinata cleared his throat and asked again. “Um, I would like to drop one of my classes and transfer to another one?”  


“Really? You decide to do this a week into the classes?” The woman answers sharply.  


_Oh boy. Why is this so hard?_  


“It’s just that it really doesn’t work in my schedule and my friend says I can still change it on the first two weeks of the semester?”  


The woman just glared at Hinata and he’s totally at a loss on why this woman is so pissed at him?  


Suddenly the door was pushed open and the object of Hinata’s problems just came in.  


_Seriously, why is this guy everywhere now?_ Hinata thought miserably.  


Oikawa Freaking Tooru just strode in with his annoying perfect smile that totally did not do things to Hinata’s heart.  


“Arima-san!” Oikawa cheerfully greeted the scary woman across the counter and oh would you look at that? One look at Oikawa’s stupid perfect face and she looks like she suddenly had all the time of day.  


“Oh. Hi Tooru-chan!” Arima says to Oikawa with a smile.  


With. A. Smile. Where was that earlier?  


“You’re looking younger and lovelier everyday!” Oikawa says as he casually goes around the counter while ignoring Hinata’s presence.  


“Oh! Tooru-chan stop it!” Arima says swatting one of Oikawa’s arms and laughed flirtatiously.  


_What the fuck._  


Hinata’s jaw dropped open and that’s when Oikawa decided to acknowledge his presence. “Oh, Chibi-chan! Didn’t see you there.”  


_Liar._  


“You know him Tooru-chan? This boy’s inconveniencing me so early in the day wanting to transfer to another class so late into the semester. “  


Wow. This woman really does not like Hinata. And of course at the mention of transferring classes, Oikawa’s attention was suddenly on Hinata.  


“Oh? I think you should just finish this semester Chibi-chan. It’s just really _waaay_ late to change class schedules. Right, Arima-san?” Oikawa says with mischief in his eyes.  


“Wha-“  


“Listen to your senpai young man.” Hinata was suddenly cut-off.  


“But, my class sched-“  


“I’ll see you next semester.” Arima says with finality and it looks like Hinata’s fate is sealed.  


Oikawa may be calmly standing there, but his eyes look like they were dancing with joy. Like he’s already won the war. _The bastard._  


And maybe he did with the way Arima was glaring at him to leave.  


Hinata decided to give up and bowed to take his leave. “Thank you for your time.”  


Hinata looked over to Oikawa and saw how hard he was fighting not to laugh.  


_Seriously, screw this guy… No! Not like that brain!_  


Hinata glared at him and bowed mockingly. “See you around… _Senpai._ ”  


Oikawa’s eyes were suddenly wide as saucers and Hinata just rolled his eyes at him and got out of the office.  


There goes his plans to avoid Oikawa now.  
~

“I’m gonna kill him.”  


Hinata says with a vicious tone while lounging at Kenma and Kuroo’s apartment. He stomped angrily all the way from the university. People giving him wide berths because of his murderous aura.  


“Who?” Kenma asks with his eyes focused on his video game.  


“Who else? That stupid Oikawa of course!” Hinata answers.  


Kenma just snorts and this makes Hinata angrier.  


“What? You don’t think I can do it? I can totally murder that egotistical smirking bastard!” Hinata exclaims.  


Kenma just laughed at his suffering. What a good friend. “Why? What did he do this time?”  


“I don’t know. He said something to the woman at the class registrar’s office and now I can’t transfer to another class.”  


“What? Why would she do that?” Kenma asks.  


“You should see her Kenma! She was all over him and the bastard just kept smiling at her and giving her compliments! Probably to hide his demonic nature.”  


Kenma suddenly put down his video game and gave him a knowing look. “Are you jealous Shouyou?”  


“Wha- Jealous? No!!!” Hinata sputters.  


Kenma just laughed at him again. “Maybe you’re not over him yet Shouyou.”  


“Oh come on! I am totally over that manipulating arrogant I’m Mr. Tall and Handsome and very good at volleyball asshole!!!” Hinata ranted on and suddenly gasped.  


“What?” Kenma asks.  


“I liked all those things about him Kenma… “Hinata says with a vacant look in his eyes.  


“Huh? You liked him because he’s an asshole?”  


Hinata turned to look at Kenma with dread in his eyes. “Tell me the truth Kenma. Do I have bad taste?”  


“Uhh…. “  


Hinata grabbed Kenma’s shoulders and shook him vigorously. “Do I have bad taste Kenma?!”  


The door slammed open suddenly that made Hinata shriek and fall to the floor while clutching his heart.  


Enter Kuroo with a shit-eating grin. “Bad taste in what?”  


“How long have you been there?!” Hinata asks with trepidation. His heart almost going out of his chest.  


Kuroo seems to take delight in Hinata’s dread with the way he was howling with laughter. “Don’t worry. I only heard the part about the bad taste.”  


Hinata groaned and rolled his body back and forth on the floor.  


“What’s happening to him?” Kuroo asked Kenma.  


“Shouyou’s suffering.” Kenma replies.  


“When is he not?” Kuroo says.  


Hinata just groaned louder on the floor.  
~

Hinata loved Thursday mornings. He had no classes so he can sleep in and not have to fight for his life in the cafeteria for food and he can choose to sit in any table he wants.  


That it until Oikawa Tooru dropped his food tray on his table and sat down like they ate together all the time. Hinata’s done questioning why this is happening to him at this point.  


“Hi Chibi-chan!” Oikawa greeted him cheerfully.  


Hinata looked around at all the other empty tables around them and looked at Oikawa with his brows furrowed. “Why are you sitting here?”  


“Why not? Can’t I sit with my friend?” Oikawa says with a smirk.  


“I am not your friend!” Hinata squawks indignantly.  


“Oh? Do you hate me Chibi-chan?” Oikawa asks.  


Hinata paused for a second. “You know what… Maybe I hate you a little bit.”  


“What?! Why?!”  


“Cause you’re annoying me!”  


Oikawa snorts. “I annoy everyone Chibi-chan.”  


“Why are you eating here anyway? The great Oikawa Tooru doesn’t know how to cook?” Hinata asks.  


Oikawa scoffs. “No. I don’t know how to cook! You know what? You sound just like Iwa-chan. You are so judgmental!”  


Hinata just rolled his eyes at Oikawa’s antics. “Where’s Iwaizumi-san anyway? Thought you’d be together forever or something.” Hinata ignored the slight sting in his heart.  


“Iwa-chan went to another university. And why aren’t you with my favorite kouhai? I thought _you’d_ be together forever?”  


“Oh. He got recruited in his top choice of school. I didn’t.”  


“What? How come?”  


Hinata shrugs indifferently. “I don’t know.”  


“But, you got recruited here right?”  


“Yes. But, I didn’t get in through the scholarship. I got in on my own.”  


“Ohhhhhhh… “  


Hinata glared at Oikawa. “What? Find it hard to believe I could pass a university entrance exam?”  


“Can you blame me? In highschool, you looked like volleyball was all you thought about.”  


Hinata scoffs. “I thought of something else other than volleyball!”  


_Like you._  


Recalling the memories of Oikawa in Highschool made Hinata’s cheeks heat up.  


“Like what?” Oikawa asks.  


“Y-you don’t need to know!” Hinata replies.  


“While we’re on the subject of volleyball… when are you gonna stop this stubbornness and finally join the team?”  


Oikawa became serious all of a sudden and Hinata gulped his food down nervously.  


“I told you. I’m not joining the team.”  


“Oh come on! You were recruited at first right? That’s means coach saw how good you are. I know how good you are. That means coach will still accept you if you apply now.” Oikawa was staring intensely at Hinata now.  


Hinata feels overwhelmed with Oikawa’s words but he can’t seem to say a thing.  


“It’s just such a waste to not use your talent Chibi-chan. Think of what our team could do if you join. Along with Tetsu-chan, Kou-chan and the rest of our team, we could win a lot of games. Don’t you want to spike one of my amazing tosses?”  


Hinata thought deeply at that. Spiking one of Oikawa’s tosses were one of his dreams and now it’s being served to him on a silver platter. But, deep down he knew that it can only be a dream at the end of the day.  


“I _can’t_ join the team Oikawa-san. Please leave it at that. If you’ll excuse me.” Hinata’s totally lost his apetite now and proceeded to walk away from Oikawa.  


“I’m not giving up Chibi-chan!”  


Oikawa says all of a sudden that had Hinata halting in his tracks and turn back and he was surprised with the intensity he saw in Oikawa’s eyes.  


“I’m not giving up until you come back to the sport we both love.”  


Hinata turned away abruptly before Oikawa’s catches that he has tears in his eyes now and walked away faster. Hinata’s confused on why Oikawa can still affect him like this. Just when he thought he’s finally buried these feelings a long time ago.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hinata forms a plan to forget Oikawa and spectacularly fails.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again lovelies! Thank you so much to everyone who's keeping up with this fic. Your support fuels me! Haha.
> 
> This chapter I'm introducing an original character because I just really wanted someone new as Hinata's roommate.  
> Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you guys think! (*・∀-)☆

Hinata spent the whole weekend alone in the dorms. His roommate’s gone to visit his parents and he told Kenma he had a lot of homework to do so he couldn’t go out. Well, he did have a lot of homework to do but, he had sulking and overthinking himself to death to do first.  


This whole thing with Oikawa was getting way out of hand. All Hinata wanted was a normal university experience, but guess that’s just too much to ask right?  


Hinata was getting a headache and was seriously contemplating running back home and ask Natsu to hide him from all of his problems. His sister loves him too much, he knows she’ll do it. Suddenly, the door to their room was opened and his roommate got inside.  


_Wow. Is it Sunday already? Guess I just wasted my weekend then._ Hinata thought miserably.  


“Hey, man.” Asato greeted him while eyeing the mess around Hinata’s bed.  


“Hey, how were your parents?” Hinata asked.  


“They’re doing fine. How about you? Are you okay?” Asato says while looking at him with concern.  


“Ugh. To be honest, not really. I’m just really confused about some stuff right now and it’s killing my brain.” Hinata says with a grimace.  


“Well, our minds are mysterious. Our conscious brain is like a ship on a sea that is obscure to us.”  


Of course, Hinata had nothing to say to that. Asato was this computer programming genius who likes to reply cryptic answers to people’s questions. Kenma hasn’t been back to their dorm ever since Asato replied ‘Who I really am, you don’t want to see.’ to Kenma’s question of why he chose his course.  


Asato was a good-looking guy too with his brown hair, olive skin and was also tall. Coupled with his glasses that completes his Megane look. But, he wasn’t really Hinata’s type, aside from they almost had nothing in common, apparently Hinata’s type are tall, handsome and dramatically competitive guys with terrible personalities and Asato doesn’t exactly fit the bill.  


Besides, Hinata’s not about to start a love affair with his roommate while he still has to deal with his lingering feelings with another brown-haired bastard.  


“Right… “ Hinata replied after a full minute of silence.  


“So what’s eating you up anyway?”  


“Um… “ Hinata debated whether he should tell Asato or not. But, as he looks at Asato’s gentle eyes, he knows there’s no harm in asking for his roommate’s opinion. Maybe this will even help him in the long run.  


“Just… you know the usual. Met a guy on a practice match from another school. Thought he was the greatest volleyball player on earth and fell in love. Tried to confess to him but, he was super mean to me after I practically ended his high school volleyball career. Tried to get over him after he went away for university then two years later found out I went to the same school as him during class because it turns out he was the _TA_ for that subject. Now, he won’t leave me alone for some reason, no matter how hard I try to avoid him. And somehow he found a way to not let me transfer to another class and now, everywhere I go it seems like he’s magically there as well and tries to convince me to play volleyball again, even though I’ve said about a hundred times that I don’t want to play anymore!”  


Asato’s eyes were so wide after Hinata unloaded all of his problems on him. It seems like it was too much even for his genius brain.  


“Hmmn…” Asato was silent for awhile then put his fingers on his chin and had his thinking face on that had Hinata’s heart rate spiking through the roof. What if Asato thinks he’s hopeless as well?  


“Hmmn… You said he said manipulated his way to not let you transfer to another class right?”  


“Yes?”  


“And he's sort of starting to stalk you now?”  


“…I think so?”  


“And now he’s persuading you to go back to the sport you’ve dedicated almost all of your time in high school?”  


“Yes! And in a very annoying way too!”  


“And you’re sure he’s not into you after all that?”  


“N-No!” Hinata sputtered, ignoring the way his cheeks started to go warm. “Weren’t you listening to the part where I said I ended his volleyball career in high school?”  


Asato didn’t look like he believed him. “Hmmn…oh, well. You know what I think you should do?”  


Hinata leans closer to Asato. “What? Tell me anything that you think can help me?”  


“Well, I think… You should keep attending that class and get really good grades.”  


“Why?”  


“You know… It’s like telling yourself that his presence doesn’t affect you anymore.”  


Hinata was surprised at that. It seemed like a really good idea. “Huh. I’ve never thought of that. ”  


“And everytime you see him, just think to yourself ‘I am Hinata Shouyou and I can get over you’.”  


Hinata’s eyes lit up and felt excited in this new prospect. “Oh my god! You really are a genius!”  


“Well, they don’t call me the great Asato Hiroki for nothing.” Asato says smugly.  


“Really? People say that?”  


“Well, my mom says that anyway….”  


“Uh-huh?” Hinata teases.  


Asato swats him with his pillow. “Oh, shut up Hinata! Let’s just eat the food that my mom made me bring for us.”  


Hinata laughs. “No seriously, thank you Asato Hiroki-sama. You really helped me a lot and thank you for listening to my tragic backstory.”  


“Of course. Anything for my loyal subordinates.”  


Hinata had a good laugh that night and felt his chest lighten from his worries. Maybe moving on from Oikawa isn’t impossible after all.  
~

Hinata followed Asato’s advice and attended the class with Oikawa the next day. He told himself that this is good for him and this is one of the best decisions he’s ever made.  


_I am Hinata Shouyou and I can get over you._ Hinata repeated to himself when he thought of Oikawa.  


That doesn’t mean his nerves aren’t killing him.  


As Hinata sat down on his seat, he noticed his classmates giving him weird looks. Why wouldn’t they? When Hinata’s missed a week’s worth of classes, all because he couldn’t handle being trapped within four walls with the guy who may have caused him to lose his faith on love. Not that they know that. For all they know, he’s just a guy who got spook by Statistics.  


Minutes later, their professor came in with Oikawa trailing behind him. A chorus of greetings followed from his classmates, most of them asking how Oikawa’s weekend went.  


Oikawa was of course loving all of the attention and was doing that thing where he looks everyone of them in the eyes to make them feel like he’s giving them special attention too.  


Asato said it’s called fanservice. Hinata thinks it’s just bullshit.  


It was all fine and dandy for Oikawa and his gullible fans until his eyes landed on Hinata and Oikawa’s smirk grew so wide, making him look like he just won something.  


Hinata was starting to regret this.  


“Okay class, since we were done with Descriptive & Inferential Statistics last week, we are now going to tackle the Difference between Populations & Samples in Statistics.” Professor Fujimoto says.  


Hinata winced at his professor’s words. Turns out he’s a lot behind than he expected. This plan to prove to himself that Oikawa’s presence doesn’t affect him anymore was off to a rocky start.  


But, people don’t call Hinata a determined idiot for nothing and decided to ignore Oikawa’s irritating smirk and focused on the class.  


“A population is all members of a specified group. For example, if you want to collect information about the students in the school, then the population would be all of the students in the school. Meanwhile, A sample is a part of a population used to describe the whole group. You can get a select group of students from the school as a population of the sample.” Their professor continued.  


_I can do this. I can do this. I can do this._ Hinata kept repeating as a mantra in his head while jotting down everything that his professor is saying, all the while ignoring that small part in his brain, telling him that Oikawa’s still staring at him.  


“Ah! For example, Oikawa-san here is popular in the whole school right?” Their professor asked the whole class.  


_Seriously? This is what I’ve been missing?_ Hinata exasperatedly thought while starting to think that things are not looking good. Of course his female classmates enthusiastically agreed with their professor.  


“Of course, not all the students have a crush on Oikawa-san right?”  


“Of course not, sensei…” Oikawa said in a (totally fake) humble voice.  


“But, let’s say the class here right now is our sample. Let’s see…” Professor Fujimoto looked at a list probably stacked with his classmates’ names and his. Hinata hated the dread starting to pool in his gut.  


“Ah! Hinata Shouyou, please stand up.”  


_OH NO OH NO OH NO OH NO OH NO_  


Hinata hesitantly stood up in the slowest manner, his heart threatening to break out of his chest. “Y-Yes, sensei?”  


“In your honest opinion, can you tell us if you think Oikawa-san here is an admirable person and that most of the students in this class will agree with you? Maybe some of you even has a crush on him?”  


Hinata’s jaw dropped at his professor’s question. Of all the days he came in this class and among the 50 plus students in their classroom, their professor picked him out of all of them to ask a question that hits a little too close to home.  


“Uhh… “  


“Yes, Hinata-kun?”  


“Um… “  


Suffice to say, that the atmosphere in their class right now is most definitely awkward with Hinata standing there like an idiot, looking like he’s about to hyperventilate because of a simple question while their professor patiently waits for his answer.  


And Oikawa…  


Oikawa was smiling like Christmas came too early while he has both of his hands on the side of his face as he waits with the rest of Hinata’s classmates for him to stop making an idiot of himself.  


“He…um...uhh...Oikawa-san…is probably an admirable person.” Hinata answered and gave a little a cough afterwards.  


Thankfully, their professor was somewhat satisfied with Hinata’s answer and moved on with discussing the lesson. Hinata avoided looking at any of his classmates and he most definitely will not look at Oikawa’s direction right now. Not, when he knows he’s blushing hard and was probably resembling a tomato.  
~

The rest of the class went on without any more highlighting of Oikawa’s popularity and humiliation on Hinata’s part. Hinata was out of the door as soon as they were dismissed.  


“Wait! Chibi-chan!”  


Of course. Oikawa will definitely not let this one go. Hinata just walked faster and pretended he didn’t hear anything.  


“Chibi-chan!!! You didn’t wait for me!” Because the world was unfair and god gave Oikawa really long legs that easily caught up to Hinata’s shorter ones and now Hinata has the perfect view of Oikawa’s pouting (and totally not cute) face.  


“What do you want?”  


Oikawa’s demeanor suddenly changed from a childish one to a smug one. “So, class was absolutely wonderful this morning right?”  


Hinata scoffed. “Of course, you would think that. It mostly talked about _you._ ”  


Oikawa just laughed darkly. “You know what else made the class wonderful?”  


“What?”  


Suddenly Oikawa was very close to him and whispered in his ear. “You were in it.”  


Hinata instantly leapt away from Oikawa, his face blushing furiously and pointed a shaking finger at Oikawa. “Y-you…”  


Oikawa seems to take delight in Hinata’s misery and laughed louder, attracting the attention of some people now. “Geez, your face is so red right now Chibi-chan! Please don’t go exploding on my account.”  


“Ugh! What do girls see in you?” _Not that I don’t already know what they are._  


Oikawa smirked. “Weren’t you listening in class Chibi-chan? Apparently I’m the ideal man because I’m tall, handsome and very athletic.”  


“Until they find out you have a horrible personality right?”  


“I don’t know what you’re talking about Chibi-chan. The reason I’m single right now and why most of my girlfriends broke up with me was because I was too dedicated on volleyball.”  


Hinata didn’t know what to do with that information and tried to stamp down the little bursts of happiness that he’s starting to feel.  


“Okay, great! You’re popular and all the girls love you. Goodbye now!”  


“Wait!” Hinata tried to escape but Oikawa pulled back one of his arms and now they’re standing too close together.  


“Have you thought about what I said in joining the team?”  


Now, Hinata didn’t know what Oikawa felt about personal space but he is seriously uncomfortable right now. Most importantly, he didn’t need to know that Oikawa smelled this good up close.  


Oikawa probably thought Hinata will feel more pressured to answer his question if he brought their faces closer together because that’s totally what he did next. Not like it worked because all did it was make Hinata stare at Oikawa’s lips, which Oikawa’s eyes seem to have caught and was staring at Hinata lips as well now and slowly started to bend his face down and-  


“Woah! What’s going on here?”  


They both turned around and found Kuroo grinning at them and Kenma beside him with eyes as wide as saucers.  


“N-nothing!” Hinata hurriedly supplied and pushed Oikawa away from him, hard enough to send him sitting on the floor and Hinata totally did not feel anything hard when he pushed Oikawa and was now looking shamefully at his shaking hands.  


After seeing the shocked expressions on their faces, looking like they think Hinata’s finally snapped, naturally, Hinata ran away afterwards.  
~

As soon as Hinata found a bathroom, he got inside and locked himself in one of the stalls and called Asato.  


_“What’s up my man? Did the plan work?”_  


“No, It did not! A lot of bad of things happened today!”  


_“Why? What happened?”_  


“I don’t know! One minute we were just talking and of course I tried to run away and then the bastard pulled me back and all of a sudden our faces were so close together and-“  


_“Oh my God!!!! Did you guys kiss?!!!”_  


“No!!! Suddenly one of our friends came out of nowhere and asked us what’s going on so naturally I pushed the bastard away from me.”  


_“Naturally, of course. Continue..”_  


“It’s just that…” Hinata took a shaky breath. “I think I felt his abs when I pushed him away.”  


_“… “_  


_“So, how muscular are we talking about here?”_  


“Asato no! That is totally not important right now!”  


_“Nope. I think this is the perfect time to talk about how you felt up your crush right now.”_  


“Agh!!! I’ll talk to you later.”  


Hinata hung up and tried to calm himself down. After a few seconds, Hinata got out of the stall, praying that nobody heard his conversation with Asato. He’d had enough of an embarrassment for the day.  


But, because the universe totally hates him, he found Kenma waiting for him and gave him a sheepish smile. “Kuroo, told me to go after you.”  


“Please tell me you didn’t hear anything just now.”  


“Um, I may have learned a little more about Oikawa’s body today.”  


Hinata covered his burning face with his hands and screamed.  
~

Hinata spent the rest of the day in a trance. Thoughts of annoying smirks and muscular bodies kept entering his mind. What’s worse is he has to meet Asato for dinner, so he can’t exactly expunge his memories of this embarrassing day yet. Because Asato will most definitely want to hear everything that happened in _detail._  


Hinata was distracted from his thoughts when his phone rang. And speaking of the devil, Asato’s trying to call him.  


_“Yo dude! Where are you? This ramen place is sick by the way.”_  


“I’m right outside. I can see your annoying head from here.”  


Asato looked behind him and cheerily waved at Hinata.  


When Hinata got to their table, Asato was waiting for him with his mega-watt smile that says I’m about to interrogate the hell out of you.  


“So… Tell me everything!”  


Hinata glared at him across the table. “Ugh! Do I really have to?”  


“Oh come on! Pleaseeee? You’re the only source of entertainment in my life!” Asato pleaded to Hinata with a pout.  


“Fine. If you must know, the plan totally did not work earlier.”  


“Really? Why?”  


“You know why?!” Hinata said with a hysterical look on his face. “Because the universe is out to get me and I’m destined to be alone forever, all because I couldn’t move on from a stupid crush since high school!”  


Asato was silent for awhile. “Dude. You need to chill.”  


“I know, I’m sorry. But, I can’t exactly relax when that bastard suddenly pops out of nowhere and asks you _‘Hey chibi-chan, have you thought about joining the team already?’_ and puts his stupid pretty face really close to yours like it’s a totally normal thing to do!” Hinata felt he was starting to hyperventilate.  


Asato was looking at Hinata with wide eyes now. “Yeah… I don’t think you really know how to relax. You’ve been very jumpy and excited since I met you.”  


“Agh! What am I gonna do?” Hinata starts to panic.  


“It’s okay dude. It’s only like, the first day.” Asato reached out across the table and squeeze Hinata’s hand. “You’ll get it right eventually and one day you’ll wake up and know you’re finally over him.”  


Hinata felt warmth spreading in his chest and squeezed Asato’s hand back. He may not have luck with love, but he’s definitely got good friends. “Thanks.”  


“Chibi-chan?”  


_Wait a minute. Isn’t that-_  


Hinata slowly turned his head around and blanched with horror. Just when he thought his day couldn’t get any worse.  


“I’ve been looking for you.” Oikawa says with a slightly put-out expression on his face while looking at his joined hand with Asato. This got Hinata panicking.  


_Uh-oh. Is he mad because I pushed him earlier? Or worse! Because I kinda-sorta felt him up?!_  


Meanwhile, Asato was looking back and forth between Hinata and Oikawa. Scrutinizing how the two act around each other.  


“Who is this? Aren’t you gonna introduce me Chibi-chan?” Oikawa asked with a glint in his eyes. For some reason the way Oikawa acts right now, reminded Hinata of when they first met. When Oikawa already perceived them as a threat and Hinata for the life of him doesn’t know why he’s acting like this right now.  


“Um… “ Hinata turned towards Asato and saw that he has his scheming face on. Which spells out a bunch of disaster.  


Asato Hiroki. His almost one-month roommate and genius friend took his hand and brought it to his lips and confidently says. “I’m his boyfriend.”  


“What?” Oikawa asked with a small voice. Meanwhile, Hinata’s eyes were bulging and looked like they were gonna fall out of his sockets.  


Asato smirked at their reactions, internally patting himself for a job well done.  


“Oh. Well, that’s interesting.” Oikawa says with a poker face, then turned towards Hinata and pouted. “You ran away so fast earlier Chibi-chan. You left me with a bruising butt you know!”  


“Um… I’m sorry?” Hinata says.  


Upon hearing what Oikawa said, Asato looked like he found another goldmine and gasped really loud. “How dare you Hinata? So, you won’t sleep with me, but you’ll screw him?!”  


The whole restaurant became silent in an instant, seeing as Asato’s voice was very loud. Hinata looked about ready for the gates of hell to open up and swallow him.  


“Oh no! That’s not what I meant.” Oikawa explains, looking very uncomfortable for the first time since Hinata’s known him.  


Asato looked at their embarrassed faces and proceeded to laugh raucously, with fist pounding the table and all. He was laughing so hard, tears were starting to form in his eyes.  


“Oh my god! You should have seen your faces!” Asato laughed some more. “Wow! Anyways, I was just messing with you. My name’s Asato. Hinata and I are actually just roommates.” Asato says to Oikawa.  


Oikawa just glared at Asato. The kind that’s usually reserved for Kageyama. “I see. I’m Oikawa Tooru, Hinata’s TA. I’ll see you in class Chibi-chan.”  


“Bye… Oikawa-san.”  


“Bye dude! It was totally nice to meet you!” Asato called after Oikawa’s retreating back.  


Hinata kicked Asato really hard under the table. “What the hell was that?”  


“Ow! This is the thanks I get?”  


“Really? I should thank you for humiliating me?!”  


“Ohoho. Trust me. You’ll thank me one day.”  


“What were you trying to do anyway?”  


“Just experimenting if our resident pretty boy will get jealous.”  


Hinata scoffed. “Oikawa? Jealous? Over me? Impossible!”  


Asato stared at Hinata incredulously. “Are you freaking serious? Didn’t you see his face earlier? He looked like he wanted to murder me when I said I was your boyfriend!”  


“Trust me. That will never happen.” Hinata insisted.  


“Really? You sure he’s not into you?”  


“Absolutely! And you’re suppose to help me get over him. Not the other way around!”  


Asato decided to let it go. He may be dealing with more than one volleyball idiot after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're sort of slowly progressing with the romance? Haha. 
> 
> Who else watched ep 1 of HQ Season 4? It was kinda sad and angsty for Hinata which kind of reminded me of how he was in this fic too. But, as always our sunshine boy turns things around for himself! 
> 
> FYI, I watched an entire presentation of Intro to Statistics just for the class scene. My statistics classes in college are all foggy for me at this point, LOL. 」(￣▽￣」)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hinata ultimately learns there is no avoiding war, it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.

After a week of classes, Hinata was getting used to ignoring Oikawa’s presence in their class. No matter how much his female classmates gush about how handsome and perfect Oikawa is. Hinata’s learned to ignore it all. Hinata was also becoming an expert when it comes to packing up his things and running out of class the second the bells rings in order to dodge Oikawa’s daily pestering that he join the volleyball team.  


Hinata’s also taken to not meet up with Kenma for awhile, lest a certain someone tags along surprisingly again. He buys meals outside and eats them all in the dorm. If he needed something from the library, he pleads for Asato to get them for him.  


Oikawa hasn’t caught him so far.  


Hinata just thinks about how to escape him, listening well to his surroundings if he hears a familiar voice. Looks around him frantically if he sees a tall brown-haired pretty boy and he never takes his things out of his bag, just incase he needs to run away immediately.  


Hinata thinks this plan is working really well.  


“Are you okay Shouyou?”  


“Yeah, of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” Hinata says to Kenma while clutching the menu hard and his eyes going around the restaurant frantically that has Kenma getting worried.  


“You look like you’re hiding from someone and the bags under your eyes got heavier in just a week that I haven’t seen you.”  


“Huh? I’m fine, I promise! I just have a lot of homework these days.”  


Kenma still look concerned. “Okay… just remember to take care of yourself.”  


“Of course!” Hinata replies, never once looking at the menu or at Kenma and was still looking out if Oikawa will appear instead. Hinata felt a bit guilty of rejecting Kenma’s invites to eat together and finally said yes to this one. That doesn’t mean he’ll let Oikawa caught him off-guard again.  


“Kuroo says he’ll join us too.”  


Hinata turns his head so fast at that. “What? Is he alone? Is anyone coming with him? Who are they?”  


Kenma looked at Hinata blankly. “…I’ll ask him.”  


“Okay!” Hinata replied while never taking his eyes off of Kenma’s phone. Kenma was starting to seriously worry about his friend’s mental health.  


_Ping_  


Hinata gasps. “What did he say? What did he say?!”  


“..He’s not alone.”  


Hinata stood up abruptly.  


“..He says Bokuto’s coming too.”  


HInata sat back down again. “Oh thank god!”  


Kenma eyed Hinata piercingly. “Are you hiding from Oikawa?”  


Hinata’s eyes widened at that. Curse his friend’s perceptiveness. A lot of people think Kenma’s dumb because he plays video games all the time, but in truth, Kenma’s probably one of the smartest guys he knows.  


“A little bit, yeah.”  


Kenma sighs. “Is that why I haven’t seen you in a week?”  


“Maybe?” Hinata smiled sheepishly.  


Kenma shakes his head. “Avoiding him isn’t the answer you know.”  


“Well, there’s nothing else I can do. He just won’t leave me alone until I join the team.”  


“You can’t avoid him forever. Why don’t you just tell him the real reason you can’t join?”  


HInata was silent for awhile. “I don’t want to.”  


“Okay. But, sooner or later he’ll find out the truth.”  


“I’ll do whatever it takes to not let that happen.”  
~

“So, I was like Hey Hey Hey Coach! You can totally count on us to win the championship this year!” Bokuto has been rambling on about volleyball while they were eating and he hasn’t stop even after they were done and on the way to their homes. Not that Hinata has anything against Bokuto talking for hours, but he kept talking about volleyball which is kind of a touchy subject for Hinata right now.  


“And what did he say to that?” Kenma asks.  


“Coach said as long as we can deal with the Ushiwaka problem, we can totally win.” Kuroo replies.  


“Yeah!!!” Bokuto says getting more fired up. “But, I thought the coach and Oikawa had a plan for that?”  


Hinata instantly felt two pairs of eyes on him and shivered. Kuroo and Kenma just gave him a knowing look while Bokuto still looked confused.  


“That plan totally backfired.” Kuroo says smirking.  


“How? That is so sad! I bet we could have won with their plan.!” Bokuto who was fired up minutes ago was starting to get dejected.  


Kuroo smirked towards Hinata again, making him regret ever coming out tonight. “I think Oikawa may have scared him- OW!”  


Kenma was glaring at Kuroo who was cradling his ankle after Kenma kicked it. “I mean it! Oikawa may have scared _it_ away.”  


“Huh?” Bokuto looked even more confused.  


“Don’t worry your over-gelled head about it bro!” Kuroo says.  


Hinata squeezed Kenma’s hand as a thank you. He doesn’t need this thing he has with Oikawa to spread all over campus.  


Amidst Bokuto’s confused state, his owl-like eyes suddenly focused on Hinata. “You know, I totally thought you were the one whose gonna save us Hinata!”  


All of them were startled at Bokuto’s sudden declaration and Hinata was beginning to feel that he may not be able to avoid this topic no matter what he does.  


“W-why do you think that Bokuto-senpai? I’m really not that great.”  


“Oh come on! Those jumps of yours totally gave us a run for our money! It would have been great if you joined the team!”  


Hinata’s eyes widened at that. He feels like he had this conversation before. “Ahaha, I just really wanted to focus on my studies right now.”  


Bokuto pouted at Hinata, which totally shouldn’t have been cute for his age. “Awww! That’s too bad man. We would’ve had a lot of fun playing together!”  


Hinata just gave a small smile and whispered to himself. “I think so too.”  
~

Hinata couldn’t sleep that night. He kept rolling in his bed, but no matter what he does it seemed like sleep is a lost cause for tonight. He kept feeling guilty about what Bokuto said. How he could totally help their team win if he joined and he can’t help but remember the desperation in Oikawa’s voice everytime he convinces him to join.  


But what they don’t know is that Hinata really _can’t_ join and he doesn’t want to tell Oikawa the real reason either. He’d rather Oikawa think he’s doing it for some stupid reason than have Oikawa look at him with those hateful eyes again for being so pathetic.  


Hinata can’t go through that again.  


Before he knew it, there were only 30 minutes left to go until classes begin and Hinata forced his sleepless self to get ready.  
~

Hinata dragged himself to class in a zombie-like state, not registering anything around him.  


He didn’t notice when he got to class. He didn’t notice whatever his professor and classmates said.  


He didn’t notice until it was only Oikawa and him left in the classroom.  


Hinata’s heart lurched, once he realized they were alone, but couldn’t do anything as Oikawa’s piercing eyes seem to pin him to the chair. Oikawa’s looks like he’s already pissed with all of Hinata’s avoiding.  


“Chibi-chan. I think we need to talk.”  


Hinata exhaled harshly. “About what?”  


Oikawa continued to stare at him silently, which was starting to look scary. Gone was the cheerful Oikawa who annoyed him and was replaced by this very angry one. “You know what I’m talking about.”  


Heart thundering in his chest, Hinata carefully hoisted his bag in his shoulders and looked Oikawa in the eyes. “I have to get to my next class.”  


Hinata ignored Oikawa’s calling and got out of the classroom.  


“Chibi-chan, wait!” Hinata walked faster.  


“Hinata!”  


Hinata shockingly looked back at Oikawa’s use of his name and saw that a group of students exiting a classroom got in his path.  


Hinata took this as a chance to escape and never turned back once.  
~

Even though last time was a disaster, Hinata agreed to go out to eat with Kenma, Kuroo and Bokuto that night. Hinata thinks he’ll go crazy holing up in the dorms and think about Oikawa all night.  


During dinner they started talking about how Bokuto and Akaashi got together, which somehow makes Hinata feel hope that love isn’t dead after all.  


“So, during our reunion last year Keiji suddenly asked me ‘Bokuto-san when are you gonna ask me out?’ And my jaw just dropped open and I asked him ‘How did you know I have a crush on you?!’ and all of the guys on our team just kept piling on about how fucking obvious I was.”  


“And then what happened?” Hinata asks giggling.  


“And then I got fed up with all of them so I stood up and yelled ‘SHUT UP!’ then I grabbed an onion ring, went over to Keiji’s side and kneeled.”  


Kuroo suddenly guffawed. “Oh my god! I still can’t believe you did that!”  


“I’m still proud I did it okay?! So, where was I? Oh, right. So, I kneeled and asked Keiji to marry me and he said ‘Well, I’m not ready to get married yet, but I’m ready to be your boyfriend Bokuto-san.’ And then I inserted the onion ring on his finger and we lived happily ever after!”  


Bokuto finished telling the story with pink dusting his cheeks and Kuroo hiding his face in Kenma’s hair while laughing. Meanwhile, Hinata felt giddy after hearing the story and to be honest a little jealous.  


“Agh! That is so unfair! All of you guys just got together so easily!” Hinata said after dropping a fist on the table.  


Kuroo snorts. “What do you mean easy? I had to wait like ten years before Kenma loved me back.”  


Kenma just rolled his eyes. “It’s not like you asked me out earlier Kuroo. How was I supposed to know you had feelings for me?”  


“What was I suppose to do? Asked you out when you were seven? You’re mother would have thought I was weird and told me to stay away from you!”  


Kenma sighed heavily. “Point is, Shouyou is that we didn’t have it easy, but at least we’re together now.”  


“Awww! I forgive you babe.” Kuroo said to Kenma and then kissed him on the cheek.  


“You guys are so cute!” Hinata says with his hands on the side of his face, looking at the couple adoringly.  


“What about you Hinata? Have any girl or dude on your mind?” Bokuto asks.  


“Uh… “  


“Yeah, _Chibi-chan_ do you have anyone you like right now?” Kuroo says smirking.  


Hinata narrowed his eyes at Kuroo and turned to Bokuto. “I’m just really focused on my studies right now!”  


“Wow Hinata! I admire how dedicated you are to your studies!”  


“Uh-huh.” Kuroo pipes in while raising his eyebrows up and down at Hinata.  


Hinata sighed. “Now I’m depressed! Can we eat something sweet?”  


“Kuroo, didn’t you say that ice cream shop down the street is really good?” Kenma says.  


“Oh yeah! Come on, let’s go there!”  


“Woo-hoo! Ice cream!” Bokuto and Hinata yells.  
~

Hinata’s mood picked up at the prospect of ice cream and skipped happily with Bokuto to the shop. He may not have a lovelife, but at least ice cream still exists.  


The shop was only a few minutes away from their school, so Hinata thinks he just found his comfort food go-to.  


When they got to the shop a few of Bokuto and Kuroo’s teammates from the volleyball team got out and they all greeted each other enthusiastically like they haven’t seen each other yesterday.  


“Kuroo, who did you say recommended this place to you?” Kenma asks.  


“Um…”  


HInata should have known that something was up with Kuroo’s answer and escaped, but he was too late and now he’s face to face with an Angry Oikawa Tooru.  


It seemed like everything stopped for a moment. Neither Hinata nor Oikawa moved a muscle upon seeing each other and all their friends seemed to notice. Hinata could hear his own heartbeat and feel his entire body grow cold. And most of all, the promise of wrath in Oikawa’s eyes says that he’s not about to let Hinata avoid him this time, fills him with dread.  


Kuroo’s teammates looked at him, silently asking what’s going on. But, Kuroo just looks at the situation with his eyes wide and Kenma looks worriedly at Hinata.  


“Kenma, I think I have to go..”Hinata says never taking his eyes off of Oikawa.  


“Goodluck.” Kenma says.  


That’s all Hinata needed to hear and then he runs away like his life depended on it.  


Oikawa’s jaw dropped for moment and then he runs after Hinata’s retreating figure.  


“What the fuck just happened? Are they in a lover’s quarrel or something?” One of Kuroo’s teammates asked him.  


Kuroo just grinned widely. “You’ll find out soon enough.”  
~

Distance was all that mattered and Hinata was sure as hell not stopping for anything. He ran through a maze of buildings and side streets, not caring even if he doesn’t know exactly where he’s going.  


But, it seemed all his luck of avoiding Oikawa last week ran out, as Oikawa intercepted him suddenly from a corner and pinned his body to a wall.  


Both of them were panting out loudly, exhaustion clear from running. Hinata ignored how close their bodies are. The cold air not helping with how his body warmed up all of a sudden because of running and the close proximity with Oikawa was making it worse. But, Hinata's got more pressing problems at the moment. Like, Oikawa's death grip on his arms ensuring no form of escape.  


“Stop running away from me.” Oikawa says with venom dripping in his voice.  


Hinata just looked at Oikawa with his eyes wide while trying to bring back the air in his lungs.  


“Let’s talk like normal people now, yeah?” Oikawa starts.  


Suddenly, Hinata felt all the pent-up frustration bursts inside him and flipped. “And I told you, like a normal person. Again and again. That I _don’t_ want to join the team!”  


Oikawa’s nostrils flared. “Why not?! What do I have to do so you’ll join the team?!”  


“Nothing! Just leave me alone!”  


Oikawa pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up at the sky like it’ll give him answers.  


Hinata tried to wriggle out of Oikawa’s grasp on his arms, but his grip is too strong. Suddenly, Oikawa’s eyes went wide and gasped dramatically. “I know! Let’s play a game Chibi-chan!”  


Hinata’s mouth slowly drops open. “Are you freaking serious? You want to play a game right now?”  


Oikawa smiled wickedly at Hinata. “Not just any game Chibi-chan. _A volleyball game_.”  


“Okay…” Hinata looks incredulously at Oikawa.  


“You can pick whoever you want on your team. Even some from my teammates if you like. And if you win the match, I’ll leave you alone forever.” Oikawa smiled deviously. “But, if I win. You’re gonna join the team until you graduate. What do you say Chibi-chan?”  


Hinata felt like the wind just went through him. “I don’t have to play you’re stupid game!”  


Oikawa was still smiling scarily. “Oh, I know you don’t have to. But, if you think for a second that I will leave you alone, you’ve got another thing coming. Because I won’t rest until you join the team Chibi-chan, I will be there in you’re every waking moment, not leaving you in peace for once. I’ll persuade the whole school to help me convince you to join the team and you know how persistent my female fans are right? I’ll be everywhere you are, even in your dreams until one day you’ll beg me ‘Oikawa-senpai, please let me join the team?”  


Hinata felt like his heart stopped beating and his knees about to buckle beneath him.  


_Just what kind of person did I fall in love with?_ Hinata thought miserably.  


Given how annoying Oikawa was since the past and his unrivalled passion for volleyball, Hinata knows Oikawa meant everything he said and decided to fight him head-on for once.  


“Fine. I’ll play your stupid game. But, if I win, you promise to leave me alone.”  


Oikawa smiled satisfactorily. “I promise. See you in a week _Chibi-chan_.”  


Hinata felt a thrill down his spine. “Game on, _Grand King_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Hinata's downfall was all because of ice cream. 
> 
> Whaddya guys think? ;)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kenma trades his body for secrets and Hinata meets the Volleyball varsity team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Love month guys!
> 
> Monster chapter ahead! This is probably my favorite chapter because I had a lot of fun writing this. Mostly because this is probably the lightest chapter in this very angsty fic. Hehe.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy! ( ˘ ³˘)♥

“Pleassssse Kenma…” Hinata was in Kenma and Kuroo’s apartment currently kneeling in front of a very snobbish Kenma whose attention is solely focused on his PSP. “I’ll do anything you want! Just please be the setter for my game versus Oikawa this Saturday!”  


Kenma just sighed and continued to ignore Hinata.  


Hinata seeing that his begging’s not working thought it was time to pull out the big guns. “But, Kenma if you don’t help me, Oikawa’s gonna make my life into a living hell. I mean it’s not enough that I got my heart broken years ago, now I have to suffer through all of my college years too?!” (Cue sniffing) “Am I not allowed to be happy? Is that it? Is that what you think Kenma?”  


Hinata looked pleadingly at Kenma with tears welling in his eyes and his lips quivering slightly.  


Kenma took one look at Hinata’s unfairly cute pleading face and gave a long suffering sigh. Kenma finds it impossible to refuse Hinata when he gets like this. “Fine. But, you better buy me a lot of pies.”  


Hinata’s face broke out into a huge grin. “Deal! I’ll buy you all the pies that you want!”  


Hinata tackled Kenma into a hug. “Thank you Kenma!!! You’re the most wonderful friend ever!”  


Kenma hid his blushing face in Hinata’s hair. Suddenly, Kuroo entered their apartment, took one look at his boyfriend and his bestfriend hugging closely and grinned. “Kenma, are you cheating on me with Shrimpy?”  


“No?”  


Upon noticing Kuroo, Hinata gasped loudly. “Kuroo! You have to be on my team too!”  


“Oh yeah, about that. Oikawa texted all of us in the team saying that we can’t commit to either of you yet and that you both have be there when you choose the players on your team.”  


“Really? How serious is this thing?” Kenma asked Hinata.  


Hinata’s expression suddenly became intense and looked Kenma dead in the eyes. “As serious as a heart attack.”  


“Sheesh. Why don’t you and Oikawa just makeout and be done with all of this? Makes things easier for everyone.” Kuroo suggested.  


Hinata made a dying pained noise. “What?! You know that’s impossible! Oikawa’s straight as fuck!”  


Kuroo just looked at Hinata with deadpan eyes and turned towards Kenma.  


Kenma rolled his eyes, silently conveying to leave this idiots alone to their misery.  
~

The next day, Hinata agreed to pick out the players for his team for the game versus Oikawa among the volleyball varsity players. Hinata coerced Kenma to go with him for support and Asato willingly tagged along.  


“So, let me get this straight..” Asato says. “You need to beat the guy that you’ve been in love with since high school in a volleyball game, so that he’ll finally leave you alone and you can forget about all the lingering feelings you have for him?”  


Hinata nodded confidently.  


“The guy that almost beat your team before with serves alone?”  


Hinata nodded again. (Less confidently this time.)  


“The guy who has the perfect knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of _this_ volleyball team and therefore knows exactly who he’s going to pick for his team in order to win? Not to mention he can look up tapes of how you and Kenma improved over the years, so therefore the element of surprise on your part is no longer effective.”  


Hinata froze on the spot and paled as he pondered on the implications.  


The implication that he is currently and undoubtedly fucked.  


“Fuck me…” Hinata says with a stricken expression.  


Asato snickers. “I’m sure Oikawa would love to do that.”  


Hinata turned his head sharply. “What?”  


“Nevermind…” Asato replies.  


“Oh my god Kenma! What am I gonna do?!”  


Kenma squeezed Hinata’s shoulders for comfort. “Don’t worry Shou. As long as we get Kuroo and Bokuto, we’ll be fine.”  


Hinata still looks panicked. “But, what if he gets to them first?”  


“Well, just pick from one of them immediately. You just have to choose.”  


“Which one do I pick? One of the best blockers in the country or one of the best spikers in the country?”  


“It’s your decision Shouyou. Either one of them is good really.”  


“Yeah, but if one of them goes to Oikawa, then I’m screwed as well. What do you think Asato?”  


“Uhh…I don’t know much about volleyball. Just ask me about computers.”  


Hinata ran a hand across his face. “Agh! I wish Kageyama was here. But, if he finds out I’m doing this, he’s definitely gonna kill me.”  


There was a beat of silence and then Asato’s eyes widened as he suddenly thought of a brilliant idea and turned towards Kenma and grinned suspiciously.  


Kenma narrowed his eyes at Asato and backed away a few paces.  


“Hinata! We’ve been panicking for nothing when the solution was right here with us all along!” Asato declares loudly.  


“Huh?” Hinata says clearly confused.  


Asato points a fingers to Kenma. “Your lovely and wonderful bestfriend can just ask his boyfriend who’s on the volleyball team on who the best players you should pick for your team!”  


Hinata inhales dramatically. “Oh my god! Why didn’t I think of that?” Hinata then turns toward Kenma (Cue pouting and sniffing and the waterworks) “Please Kenma? Will you do it? Please? For me? Your bestfriend in the whole wide world?”  


Kenma rolls his eyes. “No. You have no idea the things that Kuroo will make me do in exchange for that information.”  


“But, Kenmaaaa... You know I’m at a great disadvantage against Oikawa if I don’t have that information!”  


“Yeah, Kenma? Don’t you wanna help Hinata? Your best friend in the whole universe? Just pretend you’re a spy and you’re using your body in order to get information. You know, if you want it to get exciting.” Asato adds in while he wiggles his eyebrows up and down.  


Kenma thought it was impossible but, somehow Hinata looks even more irresistible now. The pouting and the big teary eyes makes him look like a cat who’s begging for food in Kenma’s eyes. (A cat he desperately wants to pet.)  


“…Fine.”  


“YES!!!” Hinata and Asato yells in unison. Then Hinata tackes Kenma into a hug. “You won’t regret this Kenma! I’ll buy you 10 pies! No, 20 pies! However many pies that you want!”  


Kenma smiles at Hinata’s joy and proceeded to text Kuroo.  


**KENMA:**  


_I need the names of your teammates with their positions, stats and rankings._  


**KUROO:**  


_Fine. But, you’re wearing that schoolgirl outfit tonight._  


**KENMA:**  


_Fine._  


**KUROO:**  


( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  


“It’s done. He’ll send it later”  


“YAY!”  


“I feel like a whore.”  


An uncomfortable silence fell upon them.  


“But, look at it this way. You’re a whore who is also a good friend and is about to have kinky sex with your very hot boyfriend.” Asato says shamelessly.  


“Ugh. Let’s just go to the gym.” Kenma replies.  


Hinata skips happily to the gym and occasionally does cartwheels.  


“Look at that. Hinata’s such a riot.” Asato says.  


“He’s a manipulating shit. He and Oikawa deserve each other.”  


Asato gasps at Kenma.  


“What? Its true.”  


“No, it’s just that I’ve never heard you curse before. You’ve never sounded more awesome!”  


Kenma just ignored Asato and walked faster.  
~

Ten minutes later, Kuroo sent the list to Kenma and the three of them started to think of strategies.  


They were only at the stage of picking players and things are so intense already. Hinata just thinks he’s lucky to have really smart people on his side.  


“Wow! Bokuto-senpai is still the ace! I’m picking him first then.”  


“Yeah, but Kuroo is a really good blocker.”  


“You’re just biased because he’s your boyfriend!”  


“Really, Shouyou?”  


“Okay, that’s enough! We don’t have much time.” Asato pipes in.  


It was true though. They don’t have much time. Hinata was set to meet Oikawa and his team in 30 minutes.  


“You have to pick now Shouyou.”  


“Okay, um…I pick Bokuto-senpai.”  


“Okay, so that’s our plan B then. In case you don’t get to pick both of them. Now, of course you have to pick the regulars…”  


When their 30 minutes were up. They had a solid plan complete with diagrams and pros and cons for each player. Good thing, Asato brings his laptop with him everywhere, so the planning was much easier.  


Afterwards, Hinata saw Kenma look at Asato in a newfound light. He’s been interacting with goofball Asato so far and hasn’t seen how much of a genius Asato is until now.  


They were almost at the door when the seemingly absent anxiety of Hinata earlier came back full force. “I think I’m gonna throw up.”  


Hinata started to turn back when Kenma stopped him. “Shou, if you run away now, Oikawa’s probably gonna move in with you at this point just to pester you.”  


Both Hinata and Asato paled at those words.  


“Oh my god! Please no! I can’t take the sexual tension!!!” Asato says.  


“W-what?! There’s no sexual tension whatsoever!”  


“Come on, Shouyou.”  


Hinata breathes deeply. “Okay, I can do this.”  


Hinata entered the gym and saw all the heads of the entire volleyball team turn to look at him.  


“Fuck, I can’t do this.” Hinata whispered.  


“Chibi-chan!!!” Oikawa bounded over to Hinata joyfully. “You made it!”  


Hinata tried to ignore how Oikawa’s cheerful smile that is directed at him is making him blush. “W-what? Did you t-think I would back out Grand King?!”  


“Of course not!” Oikawa looked behind Hinata. “Hi Ken-chan! I’m guessing your Chibi-chan’s setter?”  


“Yes.”  


“Whoops! Guess I won’t win so easily.” Oikawa then turned towards Asato. “And you? _Asachoo_ was it? Are you playing too?”  


Asato looked offended and amused at the same time. “Nope. I’m just here to support Hinata. You know, _MY_ roommate.”  


Hinata thought he saw a vein bulged for a second on Oikawa’s forehead.  


“Well, of course. If you’ll excuse us the volleyball players are gonna talk for awhile. Hope you don’t feel left out.”  


Asato smirked. “Not at all. Being here for Hinata and looking at Hinata the _whole time_ is enough for me.”  


Oikawa just laughed hollowly and put his arm around Hinata’s shoulder that got a squeak out of him. “Come on, Chibi-chan. They’re all waiting to meet you.”  


Oikawa led Hinata to the waiting athletes. All of whom look interested at Oikawa’s arm around him. Hinata quickly shook off from Oikawa’s hold and ignored Oikawa’s pout afterwards.  


“Everyone, this is Chib- Hinata Shouyou! The guy that I was telling you about!”  


A series of murmurs and nods followed.  


“So, they all agreed for our game this Saturday Chibi-chan. Now I’m just gonna introduce you to each one of them and then we can take a pick of our players. Okay? Unless you need another day to choose your players.”  


“Nope. We can choose today.”  


“Oh? Okay then.” Oikawa smirked at Hinata.  


Hinata just grinned brightly. _You’re not the only one who came prepared Grand King._  
~

After the introductions were made, Hinata and Oikawa started to choose their players. Asato was beside Hinata with his laptop to guide him.  


“I’ll let you choose first Chibi-chan.”  


_Welp. This is it._ “I choose Bokuto-senpai!”  


Bokuto jumped and started shouting joyfully. “Yes! Hey Hey Hey I’m the Best!!!”  


All of them just laughed at Bokuto’s antics.  


“Of course you picked the ace.” Oikawa smirked at Hinata. For some reason, this made Hinata scared that Oikawa knows exactly what he’ll do. “Hmmn..now it’s my turn.”  


“I choose…”  


_Not Kuroo. Not Kuroo. Not Kuroo._  


“Tet-chan!”  


_Wait…_  


“Huh?” Hinata asked.  


Hinata’s confusion was cleared up when Kuroo stood up and Hinata’s plan A gets ruined. “He means me Shrimpy. Although, I’m a little hurt you didn’t pick me, I won’t destroy you because I have you to thank for tonight.”  


“Why? What’s gonna happen tonight?” Bokuto asked.  


Kenma groaned quietly in the background.  


“Your turn again Chibi-chan.”  


“Um…okay.” Time for plan B. If they couldn’t get Kuroo, then they had to get the second best blocker. “I choose Takamatsu Takuya.”  


A few of the players whistled and Takamatsu nodded at Hinata.  


“Hmmn...someone did their research.” Oikawa smiled wickedly. “In that case, I pick Yamamoto Yu.”  


“Ohohoho.” Bokuto and Kuroo said at the same time.  


Yamamoto stood up and suddenly got in the face of Takamatsu. “It’s on, man! I’m gonna wipe the floor with your sweat!”  


Takamatsu just looked at Yamamoto with deadpan eyes. “That made no sense at all.”  


“Okay! Wrap it up! Choose again Chibi-chan!”  


Hinata got scared that they were gonna start fighting then and there and was amazed at Oikawa’s control over them.  


Hinata looked at Asato and he nodded. “I choose Ishikawa Yuki.”  


“What’s with the blockers Chibi-chan?” Oikawa asked curiously. His silent conversation with Asato didn’t go unnoticed after all.  


“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”  


It got quiet all of a sudden. Hinata wants to take Asato’s laptop and beat his head with it.  


“Ohohohohohoho.” Almost everyone in the volleyball team said in unison.  


Oikawa looked shocked for a moment, then smiled so brightly that had Hinata’s heart racing. “You think I’m pretty?”  


“N-no! That was just an expression!” Hinata stammered while red in the face. “You choose now!”  


Oikawa pouted at Hinata. “I’m hurt Chibi-chan!”  


_This guy will be the death of me! Oh sweet hell please take me now!_ Hinata thought while trying to control his traitorous heart.  


“Okay! I choose….” Oikawa put his hand on his chin, trying to look like he hasn’t thought about this at all. “Hmmn…I choose Nishida Yuji.”  


Well, there goes their plan B. Nishida was integral to it after all. He’s almost on par with Bokuto when it comes to spiking. And with the way Oikawa was smirking, he knows he has Hinata stymied.  


“Okay, I choose Yanagida Masahiro.”  


Yanagida was currently the captain of the varsity team and Hinata can’t help but remember Daichi when Yanagida patted his head.  


“Eh? Too bad. You got to captain-kun first. Oh well, I choose Otake Issei. Last one for you now Chibi-chan.”  


“Why last one?”  


“Well, you already have Kenma. The ones left will be referees.”  


“Fine, I choose Kimura Sachi.”  


Most of them were surprised Hinata picked him, even Kimura. He wasn’t a regular and only got in for pinch serves. But, Hinata actually saw him play before and knew he found his deadly weapon against Oikawa’s serves. Fight fire with fire they say.  


“Hmmn..for my last two players. I choose Fukuzawa Tatsuya and Koga Taichiro. That’s it.”  


The two teams huddled with each for awhile and talked. Hinata bowed to his players. “I’m Hinata Shouyou! Please take care of me.”  


“Yes, of course. Anything for Oikawa’s boyfriend.” Takamatsu says.  


“W-what? I-I’m not-“  


“Takamatsu don’t tease them. They’re probably not public yet.” Yanagida scolds.  


“R-really, I’m not-“  


“You have a plan right Chibi? Or is it Hinata? Wait, what’s your real name?” Ishikawa asked.  


Hinata still can’t get over the fact that they think he’s Oikawa’s boyfriend and seemingly froze at the moment.  


“Don’t worry. We have a plan. A lot is at stake here after all.” Kenma answered for Hinata and looked encouragingly at his friend.  
~

Early morning the next day, Hinata joined his chosen teammates to train. Even though it was a pain to wake up so early, this was the only time they could practice without interrupting the varsity team’s schedule.  


This early morning practices reminded Hinata of his time with Tanaka-senpai and Kageyama when they were also practicing for their 3v3 against Tsukishima’s team. They may have woken up at the crack of dawn, but at least they were having fun.  


The thought that he may not ever play volleyball again if he wins this, actually stings Hinata’s heart.  


The current captain of the team was supervising their practice and even adjusted it to Hinata’s hiatus-on-training body. Overall, their team was very welcoming and everyone agreed with each other. Making Hinata missing more of being a part of team each day.  


If Oikawa wanted to bring back Hinata’s love of volleyball, he’s already halfway succeeding with this practices alone.  


When Hinata tried an almost-god like quick with Kenma (because he can only do the real one with Kageyama anyway), their teammates were amazed.  


“Wow Hinata-kun! You’re such a great player. I must admit, I’m starting to think of losing on purpose so we can actually keep you on the team.” Yanagida says.  


Hinata can only blush and stammer and slightly get scared at the vague threats of losing the game. “W-what?! I’m really not that great Captain.”  


“Oh come on! We need him Captain! Let’s just kick that bastard Yamamoto out of the team.” Takamatsu argues.  


“Ehhh?!!! No really! Please! I don’t want to join the team.” Hinata’s ready to keel over and die at this point. It feels like he’s arguing with Oikawa all over again.  


“Come on guys, maybe Hinata-san just doesn’t want to play anymore.” Kimura, an actual angel defended Hinata.  


“Why don’t you want to play anymore?” Ishikawa asks all of a sudden. This prompts the rest of Hinata’s team to look at him curiosly.  


“Uh…” Hinata feels like he’s being interrogated (which he is) , but he didn’t do anything bad. Is it such a crime that he doesn’t want to play volleyball? Just because you’re good at something, does that mean you have to do it forever?  


Hinata can feel himself starting to panic and can sense a meltdown coming. But, as always Kenma’s there to save him. “We can tell you, but we’d have to kill you afterwards.”  


Ishikawa whistles. “Damn. Now I see why Kuroo finds you so attractive. You’re like a sexy angry kitten when you get mad.”  


Kenma and Hinata’s jaws dropped at that and everyone finally left Hinata alone.  
~

Oikawa has stopped bothering Hinata these days and he only saw him during classes now. He’s probably too busy training with his team as well and left Hinata in peace for once.  


During classes, sometimes Hinata finds himself staring at Oikawa until the boy catches him looking and then the bastard actually smirks and will either wave, wink or blow a kiss to Hinata, all of which turns his face to beetroot red and heat up like a hot pan. And yet, somehow he can’t stop himself from staring at Oikawa.  


Hinata would rather die than admit to himself that it’s because he actually misses Oikawa’s obnoxious bothering.  


Hinata tries not to let Oikawa get to him too much and focuses on their training. After all, only one day is left until their match.  


During these practices, Hinata finds himself growing closer with the guys on his team, most especially with Kimura.  


Kimura’s serves are deadly and he’s a very talented player, if only he can have more confidence in his abilities and Hinata vowed to himself that he will help the other boy unveil his capabilities to the world.  


Not to mention, he’s easy on the eyes and is a very nice person and if Hinata didn’t have this all-consuming love for Oikawa, he’d probably ask Kimura out.  


Which is why when Kimura offered to help him do a jump serve, he said yes immediately and rather too enthusiastically, the other guys started to gasp and accuse him of betrayal and cheating on Oikawa. All of which Hinata denied in a blushing mess.  


Good thing Kimura still helped him out and showed him how to properly position his body. And Hinata, of course wasn’t a genius and didn’t get it immediately that Kimura had to move his legs and arms in a correct position which mostly consisted of touching that made Hinata rejoice on the inside and feel like he was a highschool girl with a crush.  


That is, until he noticed his actual _crush_ in highschool glaring at them from the sidelines.  


Oikawa abruptly fixed his face to show his million dollar smile and approached them. “Whatchu doin Chibi-chan? Mura-chan?”  


Hinata whose already familiar with Oikawa’s behavior knows what’s about to come and felt himself start to get annoyed. “We’re practicing jump serves Grand King. What’s it to you?”  


Oikawa just laughs darkly. “What? You think you can learn jump serves overnight? If you’d said yes to joining the team from the start, I could have taught you _properly_ how to do them and you’d probably be an expert now Chibi-chan.”  


Kimura’s expression became forlorn and Hinata saw how his week’s work of trying to uplift Kimura’s confidence vanish in an instant. “Oikawa-san is right, Hinata-san. Maybe he should teach you instead if me.”  


Hinata’s jaw dropped and is shocked with how Oikawa’s immaturity hasn’t improve all this time. But, crush or not he’s not gonna let Oikawa weaken a teammate’s spirit. “Why? I already have a perfectly good teacher right here! And enough with the _san_ , call me Hinata or Shouyou if you want.”  


Kimura blushed at Hinata’s statement. “Okay. Thanks, Sh-shouyou.”  


Hinata beamed at Kimura and felt happy with himself that he was able to cheer up a teammate. Never noticing how Oikawa’s mood darkened every second.  


“Fine. But, know that jump serves alone won’t save you. By the end of tomorrow, you’ll be a part of the team Chibi-chan.” Oikawa says with venom dripping in his voice and walked away from them.  


Hinata exhaled harshly and felt himself go nervous at Oikawa’s words. “Great. Now he’s angry. Goodluck to me tomorrow.”  


“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come between you two.” Kimura says with a guilty face.  


“Nah, it’s okay. He’s really not my boyfriend you know.”  


“I know. But, I hope I didn’t ruin what you two have.”  


Hinata was starting to get confused. “ Huh? What are you talking about? There’s really nothing between us.”  


Kimura was silent for a moment and seemed like he wanted to argue about it at first. “Hmmn… okay. Sorry for misunderstanding.”  


“Okay! Now back to serving!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How wassss it? haha.
> 
> I researched a lot for this chapter because I included some players from the actual roster for Japan's men's volleyball team for the 2020 olympics. 
> 
> I actually typed japan volleyball players on google and this article came out. Which some people say are what HQ fanfiction be like in real life. Check it out [here](https://www.worldofbuzz.com/two-japanese-volleyball-players-started-fighting-court-sudden/) if you want. Haha.
> 
> Kimura Sachi is actually based on Kimura Saori. I researched for the best server on the men's volleyball team and somehow her name keeps coming up and when I looked at some of the videos she's actually really good, so I decided to base a male character off of her.
> 
> Anyways, hoped you guys liked it. Will update more soon!|(￣3￣)|


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hinata plays to save his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally at the game chapter guys!!! TBH, I found it really hard writing this because I'm not an athlete and was only relying at my knowledge of being a fan of volleyball for years.
> 
> Thank you for everyone who keeps supporting and the kudos and comments are very uplifting!
> 
> Hope u guys enjoy!!! ٩(^ᴗ^)۶

That night Hinata was so nervous for tomorrow’s match that he couldn’t get a wink of sleep. He’s done volleyball matches for all 3 years of his highschool, but for the life of him he doesn’t know why he still gets nervous now.  


Hinata’s been turning in his bed for the past 2 hours that Asato finally had enough and called him out on it. “Dude. I know tomorrow’s a very important match that will probably decide the outcome of your lovelife, but can you just relax and let both of us fall asleep?”  


Hinata turned to look at Asato with his messed up hair and red-rimmed eyes. “I’m sorry! I’m just really freaking out right now!”  


Asato sighed knowing his jittery friend will freak out until the morning comes unless he does something about it. “Um, look dude I have some sleeping pills that you can take if you want. I used to take them after I finish 30 hours of a very important online gaming contest and can’t seem to fall asleep after. Well actually, my mom mixed them with my food at first because after this one contest I just went on with my life with almost 40 hours of no sleep, went to school and everything until I passed out in the middle of the morning ceremony.”  


Hinata looked at Asato for a solid minute. He has so many questions, but he must put his priorities first. “Are they safe to take?”  


Asato grinned widely. “Oh yeah! After I found out my mom mixed them with my food, I took them voluntarily and I seemed fine afterwards.”  


Hinata looked at his friend with wide eyes. “So, you’re just okay that you’re mom drugged you?”  


Asato shrugged his shoulders. “Eh. It’s either that or she takes away my laptop.”  


Hinata’s mouth hanged open while he was processing his friend’s computer addiction. Guess he’s doomed to have friends who can’t seem to take their eyes off screens. “Okay….and there are no side effects?”  


“Well, you will feel groggy afterwards, but nothing a cup of coffee can’t fix.” Asato replies.  


Hinata was still hesitant, but he doesn’t think he can fall asleep without any help. “Okay! You promise they’re safe?”  


“Yes.”  


“You promise we can wake up on time tomorrow?”  


“Hell yeah! Look I’ll set up like hundreds of alarms on my phone.”  


“Hmmn..okay, well I guess I’m doing this.” Hinata took the pill Asato gave him with water and settled back into bed. “Hope everything will be fine tommorrow.”  
~

Everything was not fine.  


Hinata and Asato woke up to someone banging on their door until Hinata opened it and saw an angry Kenma and a grinning Kuroo, both of whom dressed like they’re about to have a volleyball game.  


Hinata’s sleepy brain took a few seconds to realize why his friends are in sporty outfits until he remembered what today was and felt like someone threw a bucket of cold water on his back and now he’s fully awake. Guess he didn’t need that cup of coffee after all.  


Hinata ran towards the small clock on his bedside table and shrieked when he saw it was already 9am.  


The game starts at 10.  


Hinata looked at Asato accusingly. “What happened to your hundreds of alarms?!”  


Asato still seemed sleepy and not at all in a panic mode like Hinata. The bastard. Asato rubbed his eyes and put on his glasses and grabbed his phone.  


What he saw was probably not good with the way his eyes are so big like Hinata’s now. “Um, I think my phone died during the night.”  


“What?!” Hinata screeched.  


“What happened to you guys? We’ve been waiting since 7 for you Shouyou. We’ve been warming up all morning while waiting for you and here you are just sleeping.” Kenma says clearly pissed off.  


Hinata pulled his hair in frustration. “It’s a long story! Just that I took some sleeping pills because I couldn’t sleep last night!”  


“You what?” Kenma turned to glare at Asato. “This was your genius idea wasn’t it?”  


Asato put his hands in the air in a placating gesture. “Look, I’m sorry man. I didn’t think my phone will die during the night.”  


“Guys! As steamy as this girl fight is. We really need to get going right now. And shrimpy you still need to warm up.” Kuroo interjected.  


“Oh my god! Warm ups!” Hinata took a towel and jumped in the shower for minute and got dressed really quickly. Good thing he already prepared his things the night before.  


“Okay, I’m ready! Asato your turn.”  


“Nah man, I’ll just catch up with you. Go do your warm ups.”  


“Okay! Let’s go!” Hinata all but ran to the door, never turning back if Kenma and Kuroo were following him and just went straight to the gym.  


When Hinata got to the gym, he felt so relieved that his teammates were still there and didn’t abandon him yet. Hinata ran towards them and bowed while shouting his apologies. “I’m so sorry I’m late! But, last night I couldn’t sleep, so I took some sleeping pills but then my roommate’s phone died during the night and that’s where we set up the alarms and next thing I know its 9am and Kenma was banging on my door. Please Please forgive my tardiness, even though you were already doing me a huge favor, I do this stupid thing! Please still play with me today senpais!”  


Hinata was still in bowing position so he didn’t see how his teammates’ jaws dropped open with the sincerity of his apology and smiled fondly at him afterwards.  


“Well, I was just about to leave but I’ll forgive you for calling us senpais.” Takamatsu says grinning.  


Hinata looked up with tears welling in his eyes. He can’t help but remember Tanaka-senpai and Noya-senpai with his teammates. “R-really?”  


Yanagida patted his head. “Yeah! It’s okay Hinata. Just don’t do it again okay? Especially if we might be teammates in the future.”  


Hinata started sniffling. “I promise I won’t do this again! I’ll never be late for anything in my life ever again!”  


His teammates all started laughing at him and patted him in the back and told him to start warming up.  


“Hinataaaaa!!!!” Bokuto bounded over to him with a cheery grin on his face. “Let me help you warm up! We’ve been practicing all morning and now these guys won’t play with me anymore!” Bokuto finished his sentence with a pout.  


“Sure thing Bokuto-senpai! And I’m sorry for being late again!” Hinata replies.  


“Oh that’s okay! I can’t tell you how many times our bus almost left me when we had games before! Akaashi gets mad at me all the time!”  


“Really? How did you get him to forgive you? Cause Kenma’s pretty mad at me for being late.” Hinata asks.  


Bokuto rubbed the back of his neck and blushed a little. “Well, I can tell you, but I don’t think Kuroo will like it if you do it to his boyfriend…”  


Hinata’s eyes widen with realization. “Oh….I guess I’ll just buy him apple pies again.”  


Hinata and Bokuto were about to start warming up when the devil’s attractive spawn approached them. “Chibi-chan! Where were you? I thought you ran away already!”  


Hinata turned to look at Oikawa and saw that he had clearly been warming up all morning with the way his shirt was clinging to his body and Hinata’s eyes totally did not follow that drop of sweat falling on Oikawa’s neck. “W-why would I run away grand king? W-when I’m about to win l-later!”  


“Oh? Clearly you’re prepared with the way you’re dressed Chibi-chan.” Oikawa smirks and pointed at the label showing on the front of Hinata’s jersey.  


Hinata shrieks loudly for the second time that day and this time it’s because he wore his shirt backwards in his hurry of getting to the gym.  


Later, Hinata will tell you that he totally blames the sleeping pills for what he did next.  


Because why on earth would he take his shirt off in front of Oikawa Tooru? Just because he wants to wear it the right way? Clearly that’s not a good enough reason.  


Due to the stupid horrendous life-wrecking sleeping pills that were still affecting Hinata’s brain, Hinata took a little bit of time putting the said shirt back on because his sleepy brain was making it hard for him to figure out which was the front and back of his shirt.  


Hinata wasn’t able to put on his shirt without anyone else noticing and his teammates’ started catcalling and whistling at his naked form. When Hinata finally put on the shirt, he was met with a red-faced Oikawa. “Are you okay Grand King? Why are you so red?”  


Oikawa’s eyes widened at Hinata’s words and coughed at his hand. “No. It’s just a little hot in here.”  


“Oh. Okay.”  


“But, thanks for worrying about me Chibi-chan!” Oikawa says with a sickeningly sweet tone.  


Hinata was the one blushing this time and frowned at Oikawa. “G-go away Grand king! We’re gonna warm up here!”  


“Okay! May the best man win later Chibi-chan…” Oikawa singsongs and then walks away.  


“Oh yeah! I definitely get what they’re saying now!” Bokuto says out of nowhere that shocked Hinata.  


In truth, Hinata forgot that he was still there. Oikawa tends to take up most of his attention when he’s around. “Um, what are you saying Bokuto-senpai?”  


Bokuto jolts at the question and his already owl-like eyes became bigger. “Nothing! Let’s continue warming up!”  


Hinata decided to ignore it and continued getting ready for the match.  
~

Warm-ups before a game are different than the ones before training for Hinata. He can feel the excitement bursting in his veins and he feels like he can jump a thousand times.  


Hinata and Bokuto were enjoying themselves warming up when Asato came in the gym fifteen minutes after him. Hinata noticed Asato went straight to the commentator’s booth and began fiddling with the wires and cords.  


Feeling his curiosity going haywire Hinata went over to Asato. “Hey man! What are you doing?”  


Asato looked a little surprised when he saw Hinata and then scratched his cheek. “Hi! Look, dude. I’m really sorry about this morning. I didn’t know my phone will betray me like that.”  


Hinata clapped his hand on Asato’s shoulder. “Nah, it’s okay! It wasn’t your fault and besides you were just trying to help. The one that we really need to worry about forgiving us is right over there.”  


Hinata and Asato both looked at Kenma who’s practicing to set with one of their teammates. Feeling that there were eyes on him, Kenma immediately looked to where they are and started glaring.  


Hinata and Asato both shivered at the prospect of Kenma scolding them later and handling out punishments.  


“Anyway, what are you doing here?” Hinata asks and gestured over the cords.  


“Oh. I’ve been working on these for days specifically for this event!” Asato says beaming.  


“Uhh..and what is it exactly?”  


“Well, since I’m not exactly cheerleader material, I’ve decided to let technology do the cheering for me!” Asato typed a series of commands on his laptop and all of a sudden the screens all around the gym lit up and words with colorful effects were seen on the screens such as ‘Team Hinata for the win!’, ‘Hinata rocks’ and ‘Fly Shouyou Fly!’.  


Hinata’s jaw dropped with how amazing it is and his eyes looked at the words with childlike wonder and he felt like he was soaring that moment. The rest of the players clapped at the screens and shouted praises at Asato.  


Hinata tackled Asato to a hug. “Thank you so much dude! This is so awesome!!!”  


Asato was about to reply when all of a sudden a ball landed almost directly at them. Hinata clutched his chest in his hand and looked over where the ball came from.  


“Oh my God! I’m so sorry! Didn’t mean for the ball to go over there!” Oikawa yelled across the court.  


Hinata exhaled harshly and just glared at Oikawa. “I’m sorry about him! He can get incredibly competitive before a game.”  


Asato snorted. “Right…He’s acting like _that_ because of the game. Anyways! I was prepared for that to happen, so if you would just direct your eyes to the screens.”  


Hinata was confused but decided to follow Asato’s instructions and looked back at the screens and laughed really hard at what he saw. The effects were the same, but now the words are ‘Oikawa stinks!’ and ‘Don’t vote Oikawa for the prettiest setter’.  


Oikawa’s mouth was wide open while the rest of the players were laughing so hard some were even clutching their stomachs. Even Oikawa’s friends from Highschool who also came to watch such as Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Matsukawa were laughing really hard.  


“Iwa-chan! You guys were supposed to be on my side!” Oikawa was pointing angrily at Iwaizumi and then suddenly turned to glare at Asato. “You!”  


Asato showed a peace sign to Oikawa. “Hey man! It’s all fun and games, yeah? Look, I’ll take it down!”  


Asato showed the screens back to the cheers for Hinata and Oikawa finally looked away and stomped angrily to his friends.  


“He may leave you alone now, but if you get him as your TA you’re dead.” Hinata warns.  


“Don’t worry man, I can take anything that pretty boy throws at me. I know what his weakness is after all, or should I say _who?_ ”  


“Huh? Who is it?”  


Asato blinked at Hinata a few times. “Dude, Seriously?”  


“What?!”  


“Nevermind, just go back to warming up.”  


“Okay! Thanks again for all this!” Hinata started to jog towards Bokuto.  


“No worries man! Just win out there!”  


Hinata beamed at Asato and prepared himself for the match.  
~

Right before the game started, the volleyball coach asked to talk with Hinata and Oikawa. Coach Maeda was a middle-aged guy who look like he’s experienced winning a lot all his life and Hinata has no idea why he’s letting his players waste their time on him. Which is exactly why Hinata asked him while he still has the chance.  


Coach Maeda looked surprised at his question while Oikawa looks like he’s barely containing his anger. “Well, to be completely honest, I feel like we’ve been missing something on our team for years, we have all the talented players, the right equipment and the budget to have quality training, but somehow we just can’t snag that championship trophy. When I saw you on the nationals two years ago, I knew we had to get you. Plus, Oikawa has been casually mentioning to recruit you since then.”  


Hinata felt like something punched him in the gut. He felt his entire body go numb in seconds from what he just heard. Finding out that Oikawa has been asking his coach to recruit him all these years made him question his entire life. Hinata dared to look at Oikawa’s face and saw that he looked like this is all just news to him too.  


“Oh come on Coach! I’ve only talked to you about Hinata this year.” Oikawa pleads to Coach Maeda.  


Coach Maeda gave a small laugh. “Right…You’ve never mentioned Hinata Shouyou, the future little giant of Volleyball.”  


Hinata felt like his heart is about to give out with how fast it’s been beating and he was beginning to regret this entire match even more. Because Hinata felt like he just fell a little bit more in love with Oikawa and that’s the exact opposite of what he’s been trying to do all these time.  


Hinata tried to look at Oikawa’s eyes but Oikawa looked away. Coach Maeda started to notice the intense atmosphere and tried to fix it. “Look, Hinata..Oikawa’s told me about the bet. And even if Oikawa’s team wins and you still don’t want to join the team, we won’t force you. But, just know that we could really use someone with your talent and you will really help us out. Good game to both of you out there.”  


Hinata could only nod and then asked himself to be excused and went straight to Kenma. Seeing his friend’s pale face, Kenma immediately got concerned.  


“Are you okay? What happened?” Kenma asks.  


“I need to win Kenma. I need to win this game, so I can finally get away from Oikawa. Please help me Kenma. Please?” Hinata looks pleadingly at Kenma with tears in his eyes.  


Kenma doesn’t know what happened in that conversation with the coach and Oikawa, but he’s never seen Hinata more desperate than this. Kenma squeezed Hinata’s shoulder encouragingly. “I said I’ll help you, remember? We’re gonna win this Shouyou.”  


Hinata sniffed audibly. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you.”  


Kenma gave a small smile. “You and Asato would probably be dead in a ditch somewhere.”  


Hinata laughed at that. “Yeah, probably.”  


“Come on, Yanagida-san is asking us to regroup.” Kenma pointed over their teammates who were beckoning them in a small circle.  


“Okay! Let’s win this thing!”  
~

The teams bowed to each other and to the referees and then the game started. Hinata felt like all his nerves are on fire and he’s never felt this focused of his surroundings since his last game in high school. He knew he really needed to win badly before, but now he’s desperate. Cause if he spends any more time with Oikawa, he knows he’s one mistake away from confessing his feelings and then Oikawa will feel disgusted with him and that’s the last thing that Hinata wants to happen.  


Oikawa won in the coin toss earlier and decided to have their team serve first. So, of course Oikawa decided to be the one on the serving line.  


Yanagida scoffed. “I know what he’s trying to do, he’s trying to break our spirit so early into the game by racking up points. Don’t worry Hinata! You have good receivers on your side.”  


Hinata felt relieved upon hearing that. Seeing Oikawa on the serving line brought back some bad memories. Not to mention that this match will only have 3 sets maximum, so they can’t lose a set.  


At the referee’s signal, Oikawa released the ball in the air and for a moment Hinata forgot he was in a match as his eyes took in the perfect execution of a jump serve by Oikawa. Before he knew it, it was all over in a second and Oikawa’s team was already celebrating a service ace and the first point of the game.  


“Ugh. He’s really annoying when he’s on the other side of the court. Don’t worry Hinata, we’ll get the next one!” Ishikawa says.  


“Yeah, don’t mind! Let’s receive this one.” Yanagida adds.  


Hinata beamed at his senpais and got ready to receive the next serve. Everyone seemed different this time, more focused and more alert. Hinata felt ashamed of himself for getting distracted with Oikawa’s serving earlier and decided to slap himself with both of his hands like what Tanaka usually does when he shakes himself from his mistakes.  


“Okay! Let’s do this!!!” Hinata shouted across the court that had his teammates smiling and then got ready for a receiving position.  


Oikawa smirked at him before he served the ball, but this time Yanagida caught it perfectly, Kenma was instantly there to set it and Bokuto spiked it powerfully to the other side.  


Everyone was quiet until the referee signaled it was their point and then they were all rejoicing. Looks like they won’t lose so easily after all.  
~

Hinata and Oikawa’s teams were neck and neck with the points, both teams won’t let the opponent pull ahead and the gap hasn’t been more than two points so far. Bokuto has scored a lot, as well as Nishida from Oikawa’s team. Kuroo’s blocked some spikes and even Kimura got two points for service aces and Hinata has been doing what he does best, being a decoy.  


But, when Oikawa’s team got to the twenties first, Hinata knows he must step up his game. Hinata went to Kenma for what he had planned. “Kenma, I think I’m ready.”  


Kenma looked Hinata straight in the eyes. “Okay. I’ll do my best.”  


Yamamoto served it to their side, it was a sharp serve but Ishikawa dived to get it. Kenma looked at Hinata for a second before setting up the ball. Hinata ran really fast from the other side and made the jump.  


Hinata’s hasn’t done this in a real match for a few months now, but somehow everything came naturally to him, even if it was Kenma who was setting this time. Hinata felt his feet leave the floor and got the perfect view of the opponent’s court because the blockers weren’t able to catch up to him somehow. And maybe fate was playing with him, because it was Oikawa who was about to receive the ball again just like two years ago.  


Hinata saw an opening just a few feet away from Oikawa and didn’t hesistate to bring the ball down. Oikawa wasn’t able to get the ball and the referee gave the point to Hinata’s team. And this time their team celebrated even louder because Hinata did his god-like quick again.  


The players on Oikawa’s team except for Oikawa and Kuroo had their mouths hanged open while staring at Hinata like his existence is impossible. A different set of effects made by Asato were shown on the screen as a congratulations for winning a point and the rest of Hinata’s teammates patted him on the back and some messed up his hair.  


Hinata felt really happy for a moment. One of the reasons why he doesn’t want to play volleyball anymore was because the fear that he’s really useless without Kageyama was always there. But, today he’s proven that he can do just as well on his own.  


Hinata caught Oikawa’s eye from the other side of the court, they held each other’s gazes for a second and then Oikawa smiled. Hinata felt like a jolt of electricity hit him because Oikawa rarely smiles like that. The ones that aren’t just for show. The kind of smile that actually reached his eyes.  


Heart racing, Hinata turned away abruptly. He can’t let any distractions to mess up his play. It doesn’t help that Oikawa has been thoroughly confusing him all day. Ever since the talk with coach Maeda, Hinata’s been thinking that maybe Oikawa didn’t really hate him as much as he thought. What is he to Oikawa then? And how deeply does Hinata’s feelings run for him now?  


These are questions that are eating up Hinata, but he can’t really stop the match just so he can think about all of this now, can he?  


Hinata shook himself from his thoughts and focused on the game. Kenma took advantage of how rattled Oikawa’s team is from Hinata’s godlike quick and scored four more points with the same attack with Hinata.  


But, just like all the games in the past, Hinata’s godlike quick’s surprise wore off and Oikawa’s team were able to stop them from scoring the set point. But, it seems Kenma won’t have it and proved to the others why he was the respected setter in Nekoma and dump the ball on the opponent’s court, making Hinata’s team win the set.  


Their entire team rejoiced with lots of shouting and howling and Hinata and Kenma were tackled into a pile of hugs.  


Ishikawa shook Hinata by the shoulders and kept shouting praises. “Dude! You were so awesome! I know I’ve seen it on practices before, but those attacks just now were just crazy! I can’t believe we don’t have you and Kenma on the varsity team!”  


Hinata kept blushing from all the compliments, he feels like he’s gonna have a fever by the end of the day, with how they can all keep making his face go hot.  


Kenma smiled at his red-faced friend who’s about to pass out from all the compliments. “You should have seen Shouyou with his original partner, they gave all of us a hard time at nationals.”  


“Really? Wow! Imagine Hinata playing with Oikawa though. Now, that’s deadly!” Ishikawa says.  


Now that’s a thought. Hinata’s imagined himself playing with Oikawa about a thousand times now probably.  


Kenma saw how quicky Hinata’s mood was turning sour and was quick to the rescue. “Yeah, but Shouyou wants to focus on his studies this year. Volleyball can wait.”  


“That’s too bad man, because from what I’ve just seen we’re starting to see why Oikawa’s pretty desperate to have you...” Ishikawa says.  


Hinata’s eyes widened at the implication of Oikawa being desperate to have him. But, of course Ishikawa, the bastard was clearly teasing him with how he was smirking at Hinata now.  


“…on the _team_. I meant on the team Hinata.” Ishikawa continues while laughing.  


Hinata glared daggers at Ishikawa. “Can we just just focus on the game senpai?”  


“Yes Yes!” Ishikawa laughs and went to the other players.  


Hinata sighs deeply and suddenly jumped when he remembered something he had been thinking about in the last few minutes of the game. “Kenma, I noticed something weird in the game earlier..”  


“What is it?” Kenma asks.  


“It’s just that Oikawa’s players aside from Kuroo were so surprised with my quick attack. You think he’d have warned them right?”  


Kenma was silent for awhile, looked at where Oikawa was and looked back again at Hinata. “I have a theory, but you’re not gonna like it.”  


“Why? What’s your theory?” Hinata asks.  


“You know how Oikawa’s a manipulating bastard right?”  


Hinata snorts. “Yeah?”  


“I think he didn’t tell his teammates on purpose so you’d get to experience what it’s like to surprise people again. So, you can remember how much you loved volleyball back then.” Kenma says.  


Hinata looked at Oikawa who was talking with his teammates seriously and exhaled harshly. “I forgot how much of a trickster he is.”  


“And yet you still liked him.” Kenma teases.  


“Oh shut up! I won’t hear this from someone who’s inlove with _Kuroo_ of all people.” Hinata says.  


“That’s still not worse than being in love with _Oikawa_.”  


“Argh! Let’s just go before someone hears us. Look, captain’s calling us now!”  
~

It seems like Oikawa properly warned his teammates this time and they were now actively trying to block all of Hinata’s attack in the second set. Hinata’s still got a lot of tricks up his sleeve, but Oikawa’s teammates are far more talented and experienced. Now, there’s a 5-point gap and Oikawa’s team is already at the twenties.  


Hinata was panting loudly while looking at the score during the timeout and he can’t think of anything to do to catch up to Oikawa’s team.  


“Are you okay, Shou?” Kenma asks.  


“Yeah. Just thinking of what we can do.”  


“No more tricks for now. Let’s focus on blocking and receiving properly.” Yanagida says.  


“Let’s do this!” The team says in unison and went back to the court.  


Hinata’s team didn’t make any more errors and was able to catch up for awhile, but the gap was too big and Oikawa’s team won the second set in no time.  


Hinata felt the cold creep up his spine at the prospect of losing the match. Kenma looked worriedly at his friend and squeezed his shoulder. “There’s still the next set Shouyou. We can still win this.”  


“Okay.” Hinata replied absently.  


“Come on. Let’s talk with the others for strategy.” Kenma pulled Hinata to their teammates and began to talk with each other seriously.  
~

At the start of the third set, Hinata felt the adrenaline flood his system. It helps that Takamatsu was standing beside him in the line up now, who suddenly became so serious at the start of the set.  


Or maybe that’s just because Yamamoto Yu was standing in front of him on the opponent’s court.  


Hinata doesn’t know what’s going on between those two, but clearly they’re rivals with the way the two of them hasn’t let each other score so far.  


Things became more intense when Yamamoto was able to successfully block Takamatsu’s quick attack and went to their side of the court and showed a blatant display of superiority by yelling his victory in Takamatsu’s face.  


Takamatsu who’s clearly had enough shoved Yamamoto in the chest. And of course Yamamoto, who has the maturity of a 6 year old, shoved Takamatsu back.  


The two of them just kept shoving each other until Takamatsu did something that no one else in the world could ever predict as something that he would do.  


Because who on earth would ever believe that one day, in a fit of rage, Takamatsu would just suddenly grab Yamamoto and kiss him.  


Right there. In the middle of court. With everyone watching. Until both of them are fully making out and everything suddenly became awkward and no one knows what to about it.  


Hinata’s mouth was wide open the whole time and his face was so hot because if he’s telling the truth, this is the first time he’s seen two boys kissing. Ever.  


Good thing Coach Maeda saved all of them from breaking up two adrenaline-filled boys from their kissing session by announcing a time out and dragged the two boys somewhere private to talk.  


Hinata just stood still on the court, feeling like his head was floating when he suddenly met Oikawa’s gaze and both of their eyes suddenly widened and Hinata turned away abruptly just in time for him to hear Kuroo whispering suggestions at Kenma.  


“Do you want us to try doing something like that later?” Kuroo says to Kenma while waggling his eyebrows.  


Kenma just rolled his eyes at Kuroo and walked away to sit at the bench.  


“Agasheeeeee!!! Did you see that? That was so romantic! How come we never did anything like that in High School?” Bokuto suddenly started yelling out of nowhere to Akaashi who was sitting peacefully at the bench.  


Akaashi stared at Bokuto with his deadpan eyes and said. “Bokuto-san, we were on the same side of the court in High School, so we couldn’t really do that.”  


Bokuto began pouting in a childlike manner. “But, we could have done that in practices!”  


Akaashi sighed heavily. “Bokuto-san, I always had to be your setter whether we were just practicing or in matches remember? You specifically requested it to coach and refused to play if I wasn’t your setter.”  


Bokuto blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh. I forgot about that. Hehe.”  


Hinata had a smile on his face while watching the couple and found it cute that Akaashi was still addressing Bokuto formally even if they were already dating. Because somehow the way Akaashi says Bokuto’s name was different from the others. A hint of fondness can be detected in Akasshi’s tone when he’s saying Bokuto’s name.  


_I wonder what I would call Oikawa if we were dat-...Woah! Were did that come from?_  


Hinata slapped himself with both of his hands and went over to Kenma.  
~

Coach Maeda came in after a few minutes dragging Takamatsu and Yamamoto on each hand. Coach Maeda beckoned all of them to gather around. “I know some of you can’t help your...urges. But, please try to control yourself during practices and for the love of God don’t ever do something like that in matches! I don’t care what you do in your own time, but during games we have to be professional. Understood?”  


“Yes Coach!” All of them answered in unison.  


“Okay! Let’s get back to the game!” Coach Maeda says.  


Before Takamatsu and Yamamoto physically declared their feelings for each other, the score was 11-10 with Oikawa’s team leading. Hinata was beginning to feel the exhaustion and was suffering the effects of not training these past few months. Not to mention that his right knee was beginning to ache.  


Kenma must have noticed him grimacing and pulled him over to the side. “Shou, are you okay? Can you still keep going?”  


Hinata massaged his knee and grinned at his friend. “I’m okay! Don’t mind me. Let’s just win this no matter what.”  


Kenma looked at Hinata for moment and nodded. “All right. But, anytime you want to stop, you tell me immediately okay?”  


Hinata showed a thumbs up to Kenma as a sign of agreement.  


The referee whistled as the signal of the game resuming. Both teams can feel the pressure of the final set and won’t let the other team pull away again. Things took a dark turn when Oikawa was at the serving line again.  


“It’s okay guys! We can do this!” Yanagida says.  


Except they couldn’t and Oikawa scored four times in a row. Hinata was beginning to panic and was seeing dark spots in his vision. The score was now 24-19.  


Hinata went to Yanagida and suggested something. “Captain, I’ll score this one. But, switch me for Kimura at the serving line.”  


Yanagida thought about it for a second and nodded. “Okay, do your best Hinata.”  


Oikawa served for the fifth time and they almost lost the ball if Ishikawa didn’t do a miracle save. Kenma set the ball and Hinata made it look like he was gonna do a quick attack but did a feint instead.  


They won the point and Yanagida signaled for a switch to the referees. Kimura seemed like he knew exactly what he needed to do and patted Hinata before he went inside the court. “I’ll score just as much Shouyou.”  


Hinata beamed at Kimura. “Thank you! We’re counting on you!”  


Kimura truly was an angel in disguise and scored four times as well. Now, the score was tied 24-24. Most of all Coach Maeda looked more interested in Kimura now and Hinata felt like he did a job well done in that project.  


Things became much more intense after that, now that the stakes are higher and both teams only need two more points to win. Both teams kept scoring right up until Hinata was on the front line again.  


Oikawa went in front of him when he saw him and smiled. “I hope you enjoyed yourself Chibi-chan.”  


Hinata narrowed his eyes at Oikawa, searching for any double meaning in that sentence but found none. “Yeah… I guess I did.”  


Oikawa smiled even wider. “Good. I’m glad.” Then Oikawa went back to his original position leaving Hinata with a racing heart and a confused mind. Good thing he snapped out of it when the referee whistled. He can’t let himself be distracted now when Oikawa’s team was leading with the score 29-28.  


Oikawa’s team almost didn’t receive Bokuto’s strong serve and was able to return the ball to their side. That began the longest rally of the game with both teams lining up strong attacks and able to defend their courts at the same time.  


For a second, Hinata saw the perfect opportunity for a quick attack and signaled to Kenma. Kenma saw it right away and they both got themselves into position. Kenma set the ball up perfectly and Hinata almost felt like he had wings when he took off and spiked the ball.  


Only thing was Kuroo caught up to him at the last second and blocked his attack.  


Hinata felt his legs give out almost immediately upon landing his jump. He didn’t even look back if his teammates were able to save the ball. He didn’t need to when he heard it landing loudly on their side of the court. Which means they lost the point and the game.  


He lost to Oikawa once again.  


Kenma was beginning to worry with panic. Hinata just sat there staring on the floor not moving. Kenma tried calling Hinata and shook his shoulders, but he won’t answer. The rest of the players stared at Hinata, not knowing what to do as well.  


“Shou? Shouyou? Are you okay?” Kenma asked Hinata again.  


Hinata knew Kenma was calling his name, but he can’t seem to function at the moment. His knee was aching really bad and he was finding it hard to breathe.  


What seemed to snap him out of it though was when Oikawa got under the net and stood in front of him, face pale with fear evident in his eyes.  


And despite everything that has happened, Hinata thought that fear was not a good look on Oikawa. He wanted to see him smile all the time.  


So, with all the remaining energy that he can muster, Hinata stood up and gestured a hand shake to Oikawa and smiled. “Good game, Grand King.”  


Oikawa exhaled with relief and shook Hinata’s hand. “You too, Chibi-chan.”  


Hinata smiled the brightest that he can and said the words that Oikawa has been waiting to hear all this time. “I guess I’ll see you on practice on Monday, _Senpai_.”  


Oikawa was astonished for a moment and smiled genuinely. “Yeah.. I guess I will.”  


Hinata finally turned away from Oikawa to face his teammates and bowed. “Thank you for everything senpais! I owe you guys a lot!”  


“Ahhhhh! Stop it Hinata! You’re gonna make us cry!” Ishikawa says sniffing.  


“Ugh! You’re the only one crying here Ishi!” Takamatsu exclaims.  


“Shuddap! Just because you have a boyfriend now, you think you’re better than everybody?!”  


“He’s not my boyfriend!” Everyone looked incredulously at Takamatsu.  


“Yet. We’re gonna talk about it first!” Takamatsu hurriedly supplied.  


“You taught us a lot too Hinata, so don’t think you owe us anything either.” Kimura says.  


“Yeah! And besides we still win anyway because now we officially have you on the team.” Yanagida adds in.  


“OH MY GOD!!! YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS HINATA?! YOU AND I CAN PLAY VOLLEYBALL ALL THE TIME!!!! YOU’RE OFFICIALLY MY SON NOW! YOU’RE NO LONGER DAICHI’S! HAHAHAHA!” Bokuto announces all of a sudden.  


Yanagida scoffs. “Um, I don’t think so. I’m the captain, so that means Hinata is _my_ son.”  


Oikawa laughs sarcastically “You couldn’t be more wrong, Captain-kun! I’m the one who made all of this happen, so that means Chibi-chan is my-“  


“Oh shut up Oikawa! You calling Hinata _son_ is just wrong and incestuous!” Yanagida argues.  


“What?! But, I’m the one wh-“  


“No!!!”  


The rest of the players kept arguing with each other over who’s the one that gets to call Hinata their son and Hinata just watched in the sidelines with a smile on his face.  


Coach Maeda suddenly approached Hinata. “You sure about joining Hinata-kun?”  


“Yes Coach!” Hinata replies.  


Coach Maeda nods. “Okay. I’ll see you on Monday and we’ll sort out everything.”  


Hinata watched Coach Maeda leave until Asato poked him from the side. “You’re really okay with all this man?”  


“For now. We’ll see what happens.”  


“You know _what_ will happen eventually if you keep playing Shouyou.” Kenma warns.  


Hinata sighs. “I know. Let’s just enjoy this for now.”  


Hinata looked back at Oikawa who was still arguing with their teammates.  


_Their teammates._  


Hinata never thought he’d ever be in the same in team as Oikawa. But, he can’t really take back anything now. He knows there are consequences, but for now he’s just content from watching Oikawa’s smiling face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew!
> 
> And the game chapter is done! Some things were revealed, some things you're gonna have to wait for the next chapter, nyahahaha! 
> 
> I seriously think that Kenma and Hinata would tease each other for being in love with two of the most sly people they know.
> 
> And that's it on when will these two dorks make out already? Hope u guys liked it! Will update again next week. ⊂( ◜◒◝ )⊃


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hinata and Oikawa have an important conversation and Hinata meets an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much again for the support guys! You guys keep me afloat!!!
> 
> Anyways, here's a belated valentines chapter for you.
> 
> Although it's short, it might just make your heart go doki doki. ( ＾◡＾)っ ♡

“Dude, are you sure you’re okay?”  


“Yes..”  


“Really? Cause you’ve been moping and haven’t left your bed all weekend.” Asato remarked.  


Hinata could lie and say that he’s done some stuff, but the truth is he feels like his body died and the prospect of spending an inordinate amount of time with Oikawa starting Monday was making him lose hope of being able to move on from his feelings.  


“I just…I don’t know what to do anymore.” Hinata replied after some time. “I did everything I could Asato. Now, I’m gonna see more of him everyday and everything is so much worse.”  


Asato looked at Hinata’s sad face for a moment. “You could have told the Coach that you really don’t want to play. He could tell Oikawa not to harass you into joining anymore.”  


“I don’t want to get Oikawa in trouble. And you should have seen his face when he thought I was gonna walkout. I just couldn’t do that to him.” Hinata says.  


Asato sighs. “This is why I don’t want to fall in love.”  


Hinata gave a small laugh. “Yeah. You really shouldn’t.”  
~

Hinata slowly dragged himself to class that morning. Of course, he would have gone faster if Oikawa wasn’t in it.  


Upon entering the classroom he saw his classmates were busy with something. “What are you doing guys?”  


Hinata’s classmate widened his eyes at him. “You didn’t do your homework? The one that marks 30% of our grade?”  


“What homework?” Hinata asks. Horror suddenly dawned on his face when he suddenly remembered that their professor did in fact assign them something 2 weeks ago. And with all the volleyball business with Oikawa, Hinata obviously forgot.  


A few seconds later their professor entered the classroom and Hinata knew he was too late.  


Oikawa followed a few seconds later, looked immediately at Hinata and smiled. Hinata can hear his heart thumping loudly in his ears and see impending doom in his future.  
~

After class ended, Hinata went out of the classroom sulking. Their professor did indeed collect their homework that morning and Hinata doesn’t know how he’s gonna make up for the grade that he lost. A hand grabbing his shoulder distracted him from his thoughts.  


“Hey, Chibi-chan! Have you eaten? If not, we can grab something at the cafeteria together.” Hinata doesn’t know if he likes Oikawa smiling prettily at him so early in the morning. The last thing he wants is to get used to this.  


“I can’t, Oikawa-san. I missed submitting the homework this morning, so I’m gonna go to the library to study and try to make it up on the next quiz.”  


“Oh. Don’t worry about that! I already told sensei that we had a volleyball match last weekend and convinced him to give you an extra day!”  


Hinata felt like a rug was pulled under him. He never thought he’d get to experience Oikawa’s kind side. “You did what? Why? You didn’t have to Oikawa-san!”  


Oikawa waved his hand dismissively. “That’s okay Chibi-chan! It was nothing.”  


“Okay…Thank you so much! But, I still can’t go with you. I have to do this homework now before I forget again.” Hinata says.  


“I can go with you to the library and help you.” Oikawa says smiling.  


Hinata really doesn’t want to get used to this sight. Oikawa’s normal face was already making him blush. Oikawa smiling is just deadly. “I don’t think you should Oikawa-san. It’s already unfair that I will submit it a day later, I can’t accept help from you to do it too.”  


“Oh. Okay.”  


Seeing Oikawa’s disappointed face twisted something in Hinata’s chest. “But, I’ll see you in practice this afternoon?”  


Oikawa’s face immediately lights up and Hinata regrets everything. “Okay! Good luck on your homework Chibi-chan!”  


Hinata smiles and nods and got away from Oikawa immediately. He can’t let Oikawa see he’s blushing just because of his smile after all.  
~

Practice with his brand new volleyball varsity team didn’t really feel so different from his old team.  


He already knew most of the players and everyone else were so focused and driven to improve their skills as well. The only difference is Oikawa.  


Oikawa was just so… _nice._  


It was freaking Hinata out and he doesn’t know what to do everytime Oikawa approaches him and tries to teach him something. He can’t exactly say _‘Can you please go away? You’re making me fall in love with you even more.’_  


Thankfully Coach Maeda calls him over and Hinata felt like he could breathe again.  


“Hinata-kun, we’re having a practice match this Saturday and I might sub you in the middle of the set to see how you could fit in with the team.” Coach Maeda says so casually like he didn’t just drop a bomb on Hinata.  


“But, I only just started practicing Coach! And I haven’t trained in months.” Hinata reasons.  


“Nonsense. I’ve seen how good you are in the game last Saturday. You can do this Hinata-kun.”  


“Okay. If that’s what you think Coach.”  


Coach Maeda dismisses him and Hinata walks away beginning to feel the consequences of his actions.  


“Hey Shouyou! Are you okay? You’re looking a little pale. What did Coach say?” Kimura asks.  


“He says he’s gonna sub me in for a set this upcoming practice match on Saturday.” Hinata replies.  


“Oh. That’s cool! He’s subbing me in too. Why do you look so nervous? You’ve played practice matches before.”  


“Uh..just scared I might screw up.”  


Kimura pats him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Knowing you, you’ll do great.”  


Hinata nods, but knows deep inside that he is so screwed.  
~

Hinata slowly starts to avoid Oikawa again.  


He leaves immediately after class in case he gets invited to meals by Oikawa.  


Hinata sticks closely to Kimura or Bokuto in practices and pretends he doesn’t feel anything everytime he sees Oikawa’s disappointed face.  


Thankfully he doesn’t run into Oikawa anywhere else or he’d go crazy.  


Some people would say that his method of getting over Oikawa is cowardly, but Hinata doesn’t know what else to do.  


If Hinata doesn’t avoid Oikawa, then the last 2 years of trying to get over him will have been for nothing.  


In the end, Oikawa wasn’t gonna make it easy for him as he locked him and Hinata in the locker room as all the other players warmed up for the practice match.  


Hinata thinks that dying of a heart attack at the age of 18 is just unfair.  


“You’re avoiding me again. Why?” Oikawa asks.  


Hinata tried to think of a reason, but couldn’t come up with any words.  


“Why? Why do you hate being around me so much? Is it that hard? Huh? Is that it? Tell me Hinata!” Oikawa was yelling now.  


And the weeks’ worth of stress of avoiding Oikawa and being on the team finally caught up with Hinata and he began shouting back. “I don’t know?! Maybe it’s because you won’t leave me alone! Because you stalk me and disrupt my time with my friends! Because you keep manipulating things in my life that just a simple act of transferring classes is hard! Or maybe it’s just because all I wanted was a simple university life, but no! You had to force me to play in this stupid team!”  


A series of emotions crossed Oikawa’s face and then settled for an angry one. “Just what is so wrong with being on the same team with me?”  


Hinata looked Oikawa straight in the eyes and said. “Why the hell would I want to be on the same team with the guy who hates me?”  


Oikawa exhaled heavily. “Look, if this is still about what happened to us in High School, I think there was a misunderstanding.”  


Hinata panics, thinking of their last conversation in high school. “What are you talking about?”  


“I know I was mean to you in High School and I’ve admitted before that I hated you. But, that’s just because…”  


Hinata felt himself stop breathing while waiting for Oikawa to continue.  


“…I hated you because you were all that was missing in my life.”  


“What?” Hinata whispers.  


“Just that..if you had been in Aoba Johsai instead of Karasuno, I could have had everything that I ever wanted.”Oikawa continues.  


“I don’t understand.” Hinata feels like his head is about to burst with all his thoughts.  


“If only you were in my team in High school, we could have won. I knew that the second I saw you. But, of course Tobio-chan got to you first didn’t he? Tobio chan beats me again.” Oikawa looked straight at Hinata’s eyes. “All because he had you...”  


Hinata doesn’t know what to say to that. And he was beginning to think that he doesn’t know anything anymore.  


To make it worse, Oikawa kept on talking like he hadn’t just shattered Hinata’s world. “I never stopped thinking about you after high school. Whenever we had games, sometimes I would think Chibi-chan could have spiked that ball... Maybe Chibi-chan is this tall now... It’s just… you were always on mind and I would occasionally drop hints at coach about this really short player from Karasuno High School who surprises everyone with how amazing he is.” 

Oikawa took a step closer to Hinata. “I don’t know if it’s just about volleyball and I can’t explain it either… but I just always had this feeling that if you were in my life everything would be so much better.”  


As soon as the words were out of Oikawa’s lips, Hinata felt like his heart was being squeezed so hard. Hinata felt like he was dreaming. He kind of wishes he was.  


So he can finally wake up and put out the spark of hope that was starting to grow in his chest.  


Hope that Oikawa just might feel the same for him someday.  


Because hoping is dangerous and once Hinata starts to hope, he knows he will never ever let go.  


Hinata is silent as he tries to take it all in and exhales harshly. “You can’t pin all your hopes up on one person Oikawa. Things could have gone differently if I went to Aoba Johsai instead.”  


Oikawa steps closer to Hinata and grabs both of his shoulders and looks deeply in Hinata’s eyes. “I know, that’s why let’s forget High school. You’re here with me now and that’s all that matters.”  


Hinata’s eyes begin to well with tears. “I promise you that you’ll just be disappointed. So, just leave me be for now.”  


Oikawa wipes Hinata’s tears with his fingers and Hinata falls a little bit more in love. “Is this about losing nationals last year? Don’t worry about that! You have a whole team supporting you. We can all try to make it together.”  


Hinata saw the seriousness in Oikawa’s eyes and admitted to himself that Oikawa may just beat him in being stubborn after all.  


And just like all the other times because Hinata was a hopeless fool in love… he gives in.  


“Okay…” Hinata replies.  


Oikawa smiled slowly until it turned into a wide grin. It was and bright and beautiful and Hinata felt weak in the knees.  


“And how come you call everyone Senpai but me?! You called me senpai twice and then just stopped. You’re so unfair Chibi-chan!” Oikawa pouted at Hinata.  


Hinata felt his face go hot. “I’m just..not used to it.”  


“Hmmn…Come on, they’re all waiting for us out there.”  


Hinata nods. “I’ll follow after you.”  


“Okay. But, don’t take too long Chibi-chan!” Oikawa says before leaving.  


Hinata is left alone with all his thoughts and the mountain of lies that he’s built threatening to make him crumble, as his right knee starts to ache.  
~

When Hinata got out of the locker room, Coach Maeda immediately yelled at him. “Where were you? You and Oikawa missed the warm ups! Nishida sprained his ankle and you have to go in now!”  


“What? I Thought-“  


“No time! Just get on the court.”  


Hinata hurriedly ran over to the empty spot on the front line and saw that the surprises for the day haven’t ended yet.  


Because standing there on the opposite side of the court was Kageyama Tobio glaring at him for all he’s worth.  


“What the hell are you doing here dumbass?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Kageyama does doth appear!
> 
> Will he make things easier or even more difficult for these dorks?
> 
> Tune up next week on 'When will these dorks end our suffering?' (人*´∀｀)+ﾟ:｡*ﾟ+


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hinata gets yelled at. A lot. And has about a hundred epiphanies.

Somehow Hinata was able to successfully play for a full set without tripping even with the way Kageyama was glaring at him. He looked like he wanted to break all the rules by going under the net just to kill Hinata.  


But, Hinata knew he couldn’t avoid him forever and he was proven right during the break when a hand shot out of nowhere to grab him and pinned him to wall.  


“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Kageyama asks, looking ready to throttle Hinata any second.  


“Long time no see Kageyama-kun.” Hinata says sheepishly.  


“Is this why your reply to my texts have been so short lately instead of the novel-long ones you send me? You joined a volleyball team?! _Oikawa’s volleyball team!_ ” Kageyama pinned Hinata harder to the wall.  


“Hahaha, you seem um ah.. I kind of lost a bet? So, now I have to play on the team.” Hinata tries to reason.  


Kageyama looked livid and Hinata was starting to seriously worry for his life. “You lost a bet? Are you kidding me?! Who did you lose the bet to?”  


Hinata eyes suddenly became wide and Kageyama looked downright murderous.  


“Who. Did. You. Lose. The. Bet. To?”  


“Grand King.” Hinata answers in a small voice.  


Kageyama let go of Hinata and turned around to exhale harshly.  


Meanwhile Hinata stayed pinned to the wall and was getting more scared of Kageyama being silent. “Kageyama-kun?”  


Suddenly Kagayeama’s hands were on him again. “That’s it?! Because you lost a bet to Oikawa? Did you not tell him why you can’t play?”  


Hinata’s silence confirmed Kageyama’s worst fear.  


“Do you seriously want the doctors to replace your knee before you turn twenty? Huh dumbass?”  


“No...” Tears started to well in Hinata’s eyes. “But, I can’t tell him either.”  


“What? Why not?! So, you’d rather lose the knee?”  


Hinata shook his head. “Just give me time. I promised Kenma I’ll only do this for a semester anyway and then I’ll think of something so I can quit.”  


“Yeah? But, what if you get injured again before that? What are you gonna do? Do you want to give up on playing volleyball forever?” Kageyama asks as he stares intently at Hinata’s eyes.  


Hinata started sniffling. “No! And you being mean to me isn’t helping!”  


Kageyama sighs and patted Hinata on the head. “I’m just trying to look out for you dumbass.”  


“I promise I’ll be careful! Just give me one semester!”  


Kageyama just stared at Hinata for a few seconds. “Fine. But, if I got word that you got injured I’m taking you out of the team myself.”  


Hinata beamed his special smile for Kageyama. “Deal!”  
~

Before the next set started Oikawa approached Hinata who seemed to easily catch on that something happened between him and Kageyama.  


“Are you okay Chibi-chan? Did Tobio-chan do something?” Oikawa asks with concern.  


“Ah, you know how Kageyama and I do. We yelled at each other a bit, but we’re okay now.” Hinata replies.  


Oikawa stared at Hinata for awhile that had Hinata fidgeting in place. “I know it may be unbelievable I say this, but I don’t want to ruin your friendship with Tobio-chan just because we’re teammates now.”  


Hinata looked at Oikawa like he’s a different person. _Who is this guy? Where’s my annoying and over-competitive bastard?_  


Oikawa sighed at Hinata’s silence. “Is it really hard to believe I said those words? I’m just really happy you’re on my team now okay? I feel like nothing else matters.”  


Hinata blushed furiously at Oikawa’s bluntness. “Y-you can’t just say that!”  


“And why not? What wrong with it?!” Oikawa squawks indignantly.  


Hinata pulled at his hair. “Ugh! Nevermind!”  


Oikawa chuckles at Hinata’s shyness. “Speaking of being a team, watch out for my signal later okay?”  


Hinata looked surprisingly at Oikawa. “We’re gonna do it? I don’t think I’m ready!”  


“You’re totally ready! I believe in you Hinata Shouyou, so you should too.” Oikawa says so casually like he didn’t just turn Hinata’s world upside down.  


Cheeks dusted pink and with a heart pounding a mile a minute, Hinata smiled so sweetly at Oikawa like he just made all his dreams come true. “Let’s do it senpai!”  
~

The next set started smoothly with both teams scoring back and forth. Hinata kept an eye out for Oikawa’s signal. Before Hinata started to avoid Oikawa during practices, they were able to execute their own version of a godlike quick.  


Everyone was so astonished after they did it, saying they might have found their ticket to the championships. Hinata took a while looking at his red palm after spiking Oikawa’s toss.  


Beginning to feel the bubble of happiness that’s about to take him over, Hinata immediately stamped it down with the crushing disappointment that he’s never going to experience doing this with Oikawa in a real game. Hinata started to avoid Oikawa again after that.  


But, here they are now.  


When Hinata saw Oikawa give the signal, he immediately got into position. Time seemed to slow down for moment and everything else disappeared except for the ball and Oikawa.  


Oikawa tossed and Hinata jumped. Everything else was simple.  


When Hinata landed back on the floor, so did the ball on the opponent’s court. The other team was so shocked with what just happened while Kageyama just rolled his eyes at them.  


Once again Hinata looked at his red palm, but this time he allowed himself to be happy.  


Hinata turned to smile at Oikawa who looked back at him with the same look of joy in his eyes. All of a sudden, Oikawa engulfed him in an embrace and Hinata closed his eyes and let himself be swept with the tides of euphoria.  


Their teammates soon joined the hug while shouting praises and patting them on the back. Maybe being on the same team with Oikawa wouldn’t be the worse thing in the world after all.  
~

After a few more devastating attacks from Oikawa and Hinata, the other team finally called a time out. Coach Maeda was all smiles while he was talking to them and Hinata can’t help but become proud of himself.  


“Good job boys! And Hinata, keep doing what you’re doing and I’ll sub you in on a lot our future games, okay?”  


“Yes Coach!” Hinata replies and didn’t miss the way Oikawa was smiling to himself that made Hinata’s heart skip a beat.  


Kuroo scoffed at Oikawa. “Could you _be_ any obvious?”  


Oikawa swats Kuroo in the arm. “Oh shut up Tet-chan!”  


The sound of the buzzer brought all their attention back to the game and went back to stand on the court. Hinata’s mood brightened even more when he saw Kimura being subbed in to serve and couldn’t stop himself from cheering. “ _Ganbatte_ Sachi-kun!”  


Kimura smiled at Hinata and was probably about to reply something when Oikawa suddenly got in the way with a stormy expression on his face. “Focus on the game Chibi-chan.”  


Hinata rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Oh, right. Sorry.”  


“Jealousy is unbecoming Oikawa.” Yanagida says out of nowhere that had their teammates laughing which Hinata totally doesn’t understand.  


Oikawa pouted at Yanagida. “You’re so mean Captain-kun!”  


Their teammates laughed even harder.  


The referee whistled for Kimura to serve and of course Kimura got a service ace on the first try. Hinata refrained from cheering again this time with how Oikawa’s mood seems to have soured.  


On Kimura’s second serve, Kageyama’s team were prepared to receive it this time and both teams had a really long rally for the point.  


Out of the corner of his eye, Hinata saw Oikawa give his signal and Hinata jumped as best as he always can.  


Hinata thinks Kageyama must have been a prophet in his previous life. Because what might have been a simple precaution turned out to be one of the worst things that’s gonna happen to him.  


It all happened so fast and the next thing Hinata knows, he’s clutching his right knee in pain while lying on the floor.  


Hinata guesses in about a thousand times that he’s going to jump in his life, he’s bound to land wrong more than once.  


Unfortunately, this is one of those times.  


Oikawa was beside Hinata in an instant, his face taut with worry. “Chibi-chan! Oh my god! What’s wrong?”  


Hinata couldn’t answer due to the extreme pain and was slowly losing consciousness. Yanagida decided to look over as well. “Hinata! Calm down! Just breathe okay?”  


All of a sudden Kageyama got under the net and pushed Oikawa away from Hinata. His entire body radiating with anger. “Stay away from him! You’ve done enough!”  


Oikawa looks shell shocked while sitting on floor and Takamatsu decided to defend Oikawa and glared at Kageyama. “Oi! What did you that for? He’s just looking out for our teammate!”  


Kageyama ignored all of them and focused his attention on Hinata. “Hinata, how bad is it?”  


Hinata’s face was scrunched up in pain and tears were falling on his face. “It’s hurts so bad…”  


That was all Kageyama needed to hear and decided he needed to let Hinata’s secret out if he wanted to save him. Kageyama looked at Hinata’s approaching coach and said. “Coach! Hinata had a severe injury last year, he needs to go to the hospital right now or else his right knee might be permanently damaged!”  


Coach Maeda looked surprised for a second and then decided he had more important things to worry about and took out his phone to call the ambulance.  


The whole team was deathly silent with this brand new information and Oikawa’s face was so pale and his hands were shaking.  


The tears were falling freely on Hinata’s face and he took one look at Oikawa’s stricken face and started apologizing profusely. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry..”  


Kageyama’s heart went out to his friend and decided to comfort him with a hug while Hinata kept on saying sorry.  


The medic took over afterwards and gave Hinata the first aid and prepared him to be taken to the hospital.  


The whole time Hinata felt like he was cheated by fate. They made him experience what it was like to live his dream for a moment, only to take it away so soon.  


Maybe he just wasn’t meant to be happy after all.  
~

Hinata woke up in the hospital with Kageyama sleeping in the chair beside his bed. Almost a year ago, Hinata found Kageyama in the exact same position. The first time he got injured.  


At the end of the day at least he’ll still have friends he can count on.  


Hinata nudged Kageyama with his hand. After a few seconds Kageyama awoke and instantly looked at Hinata with concern. “Dumbass, how’s your knee?”  


Although his bedside manners could use some improvement.  


“Geez, I’m already on a hospital bed and you still insult me. I’m fine now. They gave me a bunch of painkillers for the pain. The doctors said nothing was seriously damaged.”  


Kageyama just grunts and Hinata waited for Kageyama’s usual tirade.  


After a few seconds of Hinata’s staring, Kageyama finally got uncomfortable. “What are you staring at dumbass?”  


Hinata blinked a few times. “Nothing. Just waiting for your monologue about how stupid I am.”  


“Don’t wait for it. This is clearly Oikawa’s fault.” Kageyama looked angry all of a sudden.  


Hinata frowned. “Please don’t blame him. I should have told him from the start.”  


“You’re letting your feelings blind you.” Kageyama argued.  


Hinata was about to protest when a knock on the door interrupted them. “Maybe that’s Kenma. I’m getting yelled at this time for sure.”  


“I don’t know. I didn’t call him.” Kageyama says while looking at the door and got up from the chair to open it.  


Kageyama almost closed the door upon seeing it _wasn’t_ Kenma, but decided he didn’t want to upset his friend any further. “What do you want? Hinata’s resting.”  


“Just let me see him please. I need to know he’s okay.” Oikawa pleads.  


Kageyama narrowed his eyes at Oikawa. “If you hurt him again, I swear…”  


Oikawa instantly understood the message. “That’s the last thing that I want.”  


Kageyama turned back to look at a pale-faced Hinata who clearly heard everything. “Oi dumbass! You have a visitor. Call me if anything happens.”  


Kageyama was out of the room before Hinata could say anything and Oikawa was already standing in front of Hinata looking at him with an intense gaze.  


Oikawa didn’t say a word for a solid minute. He just looked at Hinata the whole time and Hinata’s never been more uncomfortable in his life and painfully notes that he _literally_ can’t run away this time.  


“How are you feeling?” Oikawa finally asks.  


“I’m fine…” Hinata replies.  


Oikawa frowns. “Are you really? You’re not lying this time?”  


Hinata swallows hard. “I’m so sorry! I should have told you-“  


“No!” Oikawa says loudly. “Don’t apologize! This is all my fault!”  


Hinata breathes harshly. “No it’s not! Please don’t blame yourself!”  


“Yes it is!” Oikawa argues. “You told me again and again that you _don’t_ want to join, but I’m the fucking asshole who forced you anyway!”  


“You didn’t know…”  


“It doesn’t matter! I should have accepted your refusal from the start. No matter what your reason is. Everyone was right, I am a selfish asshole!”  


“No you’re not! You helped me bring my love back for volleyball!”  


Oikawa just shakes his head and Hinata doesn’t know what to say to someone who intends to blame themselves.  


“How come I didn’t know? Why wasn’t it on the news or something?” Oikawa asks. “I went back home a few months ago and I didn’t hear a word about the ace of Karasuno Volleyball team getting injured and possibly unable to play for life.”  


“That’s because it happened on a practice match like this one.” Hinata replies. “It was my last year and volleyball was the only thing that I had going for me and I wanted to win every game no matter what. Guess I overdid it. I asked the Coach to keep everything private and he talked to the other school not to say anything as well.”  


Oikawa exhales heavily. “And Kuroo? He’s Kenma’s boyfriend he should have known.”  


“I asked them both to keep it a secret and they respected my decision. Kenma protested a lot before I joined the university team.”  


Oikawa looked silently at Hinata for awhile. “How serious is it? I have a knee injury too, Maybe you should see my doctor.”  


Hinata was tempted to lie again. Because the truth will finally nail the coffin to his dream of being on the same team with Oikawa. But, lies are what got him in this disaster in the first place and decided to be honest about his injury once and for all.  


“The injury was so severe that they had to perform surgery. I wasn’t supposed to play for the next 2 years.” Hinata says.  


Oikawa’s eyes widened. “2 years… So, by the time you can play again, I’d have already graduated..”  


Hinata nodded and then both of them were silent again.  


Oikawa exhales harshly and his face had that same smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Hell, at least we had one game right?”  


Hinata forced himself to smile back and tried his best reach Oikawa for a handshake. “Good game, _Senpai_.”  


Oikawa stepped closer and Hinata thinks maybe it’s just the painkillers, but he thought Oikawa’s eyes were glistening.  


Oikawa gripped Hinata’s hand tightly and whispered. “Yes it was… It really was.”  


Oikawa slowly let go of Hinata’s hand and got out of the room. Hinata didn’t have to imagine the tears falling from his eyes.  
~

Spending a week in bedrest will surely do damage to Hinata’s grades. But, to the subject where he initially didn’t attend the classes on the first week? Hinata didn’t have to wonder why the professor wanted to talk to him.  


“At the rate of how things are going, you might fail my class Hinata-kun.” Fujimoto-sensai says.  


Hinata swallows hard. “I understand sensei.”  


“So, it’s a good thing the TA decided to help tutor you for the next few weeks. He says you’re friends anyway. Good luck Hinata-kun!” Fujimoto-sensei says cheerfully. Meanwhile Hinata’s heart started to pound like crazy.  


When Hinata got out of the professor’s office, Oikawa was already waiting and smiled when he saw him. “Are you ready to be tutored Chibi-chan?”  


Hinata thought maybe the professor was playing a prank on him, but he guessed this is really happening. “Why are you doing this Oikawa-san? You have nothing to gain from this since I’m not your teammate anymore.”  


Oikawa gasps. “Really Chibi-chan? After everything we’ve been through, I thought you’d know I’d do anything to help my friends.”  


Hinata’s eyes widened. “We’re friends?”  


After their conversation at the hospital, Hinata thought that was the last time he’s ever gonna talk with Oikawa, but here he is offfering to help him with a failing subject and declaring that they’re friends.  


Hinata pinched himself to check if he was dreaming, but the beautiful man in front of him is actually real.  


Oikawa laughs and ruffles his hair. “Silly Chibi-chan, of course we are! Now let’s go to my office.”  


“W-why are we going there?” Hinata says with a blushing face.  


“To start studying of course! It’s really small though, but I am just a TA after all.” Oikawa cheerfully replies and leads the way to his office.  


Hinata tries to fix his forever messed up hair and follows Oikawa.  


When they entered Oikawa’s office, Hinata saw a board full of pictures from Oikawa’s team in high school and the university’s team and something else that’s surprising…  


“Aliens?” Hinata asks.  


Oikawa chuckles. “Oh yeah! I’m obsessed with them! Iwa-chan used to find it so annoying.”  


“Wow! I never knew that about you..”Hinata says.  


“Well, now that we don’t have to talk about volleyball, we can talk about other things Chibi-chan!”  


Hinata really doesn’t want to talk about these _other things_. It might lead them to a dangerous territory a.k.a. Hinata’s huge crush on Oikawa.  


“Okay, so let’s start! What lessons do you find difficult Chibi-chan?” Oikawa asks after they both sat down.  


“Um..the first lesson? Because I wasn’t really around?” Hinata says in embarrassment.  


“Right, and whose fault was that?” Oikawa smirks.  


“Ugh! Fine, I learned my lesson!”  


“Or in this case, you didn’t cause you were absent.”  


“Okay! Can we please get on with the lesson?!” Hinata was beginning to feel frustrated.  


Oikawa just giggles at Hinata’s outburst and Hinata felt his eye twitch.  


“So, Chibi-chan the lesson you missed were about Descriptive and Inferential Statistics which are pretty important actually, I don’t know how the hell you got by. So Chibi-chan..”  


While Oikawa kept rambling on about statistics, Hinata couldn’t focus with how Oikawa still kept calling him _Chibi-chan_.  


“Hold up!” Hinata says out of the blue and Oikawa stopped talking.  


“What is it?” Oikawa asks.  


“We’re friends now right?”  


“Yes?” It seems clear that Oikawa’s confused on where this is going.  


“Then can you please stop calling me _Chibi-chan_?! I have a name you know! And it really annoys me when people keep reminding me about my height!”  


_Oh no! Why did I say that? He’s definitely not gonna tutor me after this!_ Hinata panics, thinking he may have already ruined their arrangement with his outburst.  


Oikawa was silent for awhile and Hinata was getting ready to leave.  


“Hmmn..Okay! _Shou-chan_ then!” Oikawa cheerfully says.  


Hinata immediately turns red. “Wha- That’s not what I meant-“  


“ _Shou-chan_ , we really need to get on with the lesson now.” Oikawa says with a serious voice and Hinata knows he just made his life even more difficult.  


Hinata nods and Oikawa smiles at him.  


Hinata couldn’t help but smile back. With everything that has happened this is the best that Hinata could ask for.  


Being friends with Oikawa.  


Maybe they could just start on a new ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! So, it's officially revealed you guys! After weeks of dodging your questions, you finally know why Hinata couldn't play volleyball. I'm so sorry for hurting our sunshine boy! (っ- ‸ – ς)
> 
> FYI I was listening to [Quit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKhmCh68Qu0) by Cashmere & Ariana Grande while writing the hospital scene with Oikawa and Hinata and I was tearing up. You can try listening to it too for the added experience, haha.
> 
> P.S. I also imagined both of them just smiling at each other like idiots at Oikawa's office.
> 
> Anyways, thank you for putting up with my Shenanigans and next chapter we will officially be entering the FRIEND ZONE. Hahahaha. 《《o(≧◇≦)o》》


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hinata realizes it was never really over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again my lovelies! As always thank you for the support! It warms my heart all the time! XOXO
> 
> Chapter summary based from Katy Perry's Never really over because everytime I hear this song, I keep thinking about the fic and how it's so spot on with the plot, haha. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy! (ᗒᗨᗕ)

For the first time in long while, Hinata woke up with a smile on his face.  


He never knew that having Oikawa’s constant presence in his life will make him this happy. Hinata used to just look at Oikawa from a distance, whether it’s from across the opponent’s court or from his chair in their class when he’s trying hard to not get caught staring.  


Hinata thought he’d never get close. Sometimes he even thinks he has no right to breathe the air around Oikawa.  


But, here and now with no rivalries and secrets in the way (well, except for the really big one) Hinata can proudly say that Oikawa Tooru is his friend.  


And he’s never been more content.  


From eating meals after class in the cafeteria to spending hours of studying in Oikawa’s office and trying out the restaurants around the campus, Hinata has laughed and smiled with Oikawa a lot this week.  


_Yep. There’s no going back from this._ Hinata admittedly thought.  


_I’m madly and crazy in love with Oikawa Tooru._  


Hinata immediately buried his burning face in his pillow. Hinata always knew his feelings ran deep, but actually getting to know Oikawa behind the fake smiles and the drama of competitions just made Hinata love Oikawa even more, not just because Hinata has seen his flaws but in spite of them.  


“You okay dude? Why are you trying to suffocate yourself with a pillow?” Asato asks.  


Hinata looked up at Asato. “I’m not okay Asato. Because I know that I’m screwed for life and yet, I am totally really okay with it!”  


Asato looked at Hinata for awhile. “..okay. I’m guessing this has something to do with how you’ve been spending so much time with Oikawa these days?”  


“No..” Hinata boldy lies while blushing.  


Asato snorts. “Yeah, right. Tell that to yourself when you’re no longer blushing just at the mention of his name. You guys have been inseparable this week, Kenma’s beginning to get jealous.”  


Hinata’s eyes widened. “Kenma said that? When?”  


“Last night, when we ate dinner together.”  


Hinata gasps. “You guys ate together without me?!”  


“We texted you, but you said you were still studying with Oikawa! If it is indeed _studying_ that you are doing?” Asato wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at Hinata.  


“W-what? We are just studying okay?! Look, I’ll show you my notes!” Hinata sputters.  


Asato waves his hand dismissively. “No need lover boy. Keep your love notes to yourself.”  


“Wha- But were just- Argh! Believe what you want, but nothing is happening! I’m gonna take a shower!” Hinata’s whole body blushes with his face as he stomps away to the bathroom while Asato laughs at him.  


“It better just be _showering_ that you’re doing in there!”  


“Shut up!!!”  
~

Hinata and Oikawa were in the middle of their tutoring session when Hinata noticed the light from the window hit Oikawa’s face perfectly which somehow made him even more beautiful.  


Hinata knew he’d never get the chance to stare at Oikawa this close and decided to indulge himself for once.  


Oikawa had always been too pretty for a guy. His eyelashes were long and dark and curled and were touching his fair-skinned cheeks. His jaw is chiseled sharply and Hinata knew that if he touched his lustrous brown hair, it would be incredibly soft.  


And his eyes were the type of brown that was like a sweet chocolate.  


…and is also staring back at him now.  


Fear gripped Hinata’s chest at being caught and Oikawa’s smirk made it all worse.  


“See something you like Shou-chan?” Oikawa teases.  


Hinata immediately turned crimson and began coughing at his hand. “Ah, no! There was dirt on your face!”  


Oikawa chuckles and wiped the imaginary dirt on his face. “There..is it gone?”  


“Y-yes!” Hinata stammers.  


Hinata breathed a sigh of relief for being able to come up with an excuse. Ignoring the nagging voice in his head that Oikawa never really believed him for a second. Suddenly, Hinata remembered that he was supposed to ask Oikawa to postpone their study session for another day before Hinata got distracted with Oikawa’s stupid handsome face.  


“Um, Oikawa-san?” Hinata asks.  


“Yes?”  


“Is it okay if we cancel the tutor session tomorrow? I have to go to the city and buy something for my sister because her birthday’s coming up.”  


“Hmmmn…” Oikawa put his hand on his chin while thinking about it and Hinata’s scared that he may have offended him.  


“Okay! We can postpone it to some other time.” Hinata immediately felt relieved, only to get scared again when Oikawa lifted a finger. “But! You have to call me _Senpai_ all the time…”  


Hinata blushed again, it seems he will always be red in the face whenever he’s with Oikawa.  


“Uhh..”  


“Oh come on Shou-chan! I’ve asked you like a million times to call me that!” Oikawa was pouting now.  


Hinata ran a hand at his face. “It’s just…it’s kind of inappropriate? Cause you’re my TA?”  


“No it’s not! A lot of students call their TA senpai!” Oikawa has that determined look on his face now and Hinata knows Oikawa’s gonna annoy him until he agrees.  


Hinata sighed heavily. “Fine. Oikawa… _senpai_.”  


Oikawa grinned brightly. “See? That wasn’t so hard?”  


“Right…”  


“Where are you planning to buy her a gift by the way?” Oikawa asks.  


“Oh, um. In Akihabara? There’s this anime that she’s addicted to.”  


“Do you know how to go there?”  


“Um..I’ll ask Kenma?”  


“Hmmn..Why don’t I just go with you?” Oikawa asks cheerfully.  


Hinata’s eyes widened. “W-why would you do that?”  


“Eh? Why not? It’s what friends do Shou-chan!”  


Hinata blinked furiously at Oikawa.  


_If they go together tomorrow…it’s almost like they’re going on a date._  


“Um… sure?”  


Oikawa clapped his hands. “It’s almost like we’re going on a date Shou-chan!”  


Hinata chokes.  


“Okay, now back to the lesson!”  
~

Hinata was racing to his meeting place with Oikawa outside of campus. He was running 10 minutes late because when Asato heard about his _totally-not-a-date_ with Oikawa, he tried to fix Hinata’s impossible hair.  


With a gel.  


It did not look good, so Hinata washed his hair again and didn’t even bother drying it and let the wind took care of itself.  


Needless to say, Hinata got to their meeting place all sweaty and his shirt still too wet from his hair. Not to mention Oikawa was already there tapping his foot impatiently looking effortlessly attractive as usual.  


Oikawa’s eyes widened upon seeing Hinata’s messy state. “Oh my god! What happened to you Shou-chan?”  


Hinata was panting loudly. “It’s a long story. Sorry to keep you waiting.”  


“Well, it’s a long walk to the station. You can tell me how you became..like this.” The bastard actually winks at Hinata and proceeded to walk ahead.  


It seems Hinata has no time to make up a lie on how he became more messy than usual.  
~

Commuting with Oikawa felt…normal.  


Almost like they were doing it together everyday. Hinata hasn’t explored Tokyo that much yet and was very thankful that Oikawa was there as a guide. Hinata was sure he would have gotten lost on his own.  


Although he didn’t have to treat Hinata like a _girl_.  


Like protecting him with his tall body when a lot of people suddenly got on the train and giving Hinata the first empty seat that he saw.  


Because there’s no need to make Hinata think of this as a date, when Hinata knows Oikawa’s just helping out a friend.  


When they arrived at Akihabara, Hinata suddenly developed a headache.  


Tall buildings stood together with various animes and games advertised outside them with hundreds of locals and tourists walking around. It was bright and colorful and chaotic and Hinata has no idea where he’s gonna find Natsu’s gift.  


“Come on Shou-chan! Better start early before the high school students get here.” Oikawa warns.  


“Why? What happens when they get here?” Hinata asks with trepidation.  


“Well, people like us, all we ever think about is volleyball. Some people..all they ever think about is anime. Imagine how someone like you having an obsession on anime instead of volleyball roaming this place and then multiply it by hundreds.”  


Hinata’s eyes became as big as saucers. “Yup! Let’s go!”  


Oikawa chuckles as Hinata walks briskly to the nearest store.  
~

They didn’t find anything.  


Hinata felt like crying. His feet are killing him and his head hurts from being exposed to so many bright things. He knew their time was limited and when the high school students got there, he knew there was no hope of finding any merchandise of that anime that Natsu liked.  


“We can just come back here this Saturday you know?” Oikawa says.  


“No! You might be busy and I’m just disturbing you. I can just come back here on my own.” Hinata replies hurriedly.  


Oikawa waved his hand in the air. “Eh, I have nothing to do anyway. Our practice was moved to Sunday. So, really you’ll be saving me from boredom Shou-chan.”  


Hinata felt like his heart grew three times bigger. Oikawa may be an asshole sometimes, but he really has a kind heart.  


Hinata bowed to Oikawa all of a sudden. “Thank you for helping me out Senpai!”  


Oikawa snorts. “ _Now_ , you call me senpai.”  


Oikawa suddenly pinched both of Hinata’s cheeks. “You are so cute Shou-chan! Come on, let’s go home.”  


Hinata touched his red cheeks where Oikawa’s touch still lingered. Hinata thinks he was a fool to think he could ever move on from this guy.  
~

Oikawa was acting weird while they were on the train. He kept fidgeting in place and his face has a sour expression.  


“Are you okay Senpai? You’re acting weird.” Hinata asks.  


“Ahh..” Oikawa chuckles and leaned in to whisper on Hinata’s ear. “I need to pee..”  


It took all of Hinata’s self control not to burst out laughing then and there. “Really? I thought you were about to bust out a dance move or something.”  


Oikawa glared at Hinata. “You’re lucky I like you.”  


Hinata stopped breathing altogether. _Did he just?...._  


The trains suddenly stopped. “Oh, look we’re here! I’ll just go to the bathroom for a sec Shou-chan.”  


Hinata got out of the trains in a daze, he doesn’t know if Oikawa meant what he said, but it shocked him to his core.  


Hinata would have kept thinking about it if they didn’t spot a familiar figure standing in the corner.  


“Iwa-chan!!!”  


Iwaizumi smirked upon seeing he and Oikawa were together and Hinata wanted to leap back to the trains and escape.  


“What are you doing here Shittykawa? And why is Karasuno’s number 10 with you?” Iwaizumi asks.  


“Shou-chan and I went to Akihabara to look for a gift for his sister!” Oikawa replies happily.  


“Ahh, so it’s _Shou-chan_ now huh?” The mirth in Iwaizumi’s eyes are unmistakable.  


“Yes! Because we’re friends now!” Oikawa put both of his hands in the air with a silly smile on his face. “Um.. I kind of have to go the bathroom, can you please look after Shou-chan for a moment? Thanks! Bye!” Oikawa was gone before any of them had a say in it.  


Iwaizumi turned to look back at Hinata and he can’t help but feel like Oikawa just left him to the wolves.  


The two of them just stared at each other for awhile until Iwaizumi spoke.  


“So… confess yet?”  


All the color drained from Hinata’s face in an instant. “W-what?”  


Iwaizumi laughs. “The night of your match versus Shiratorizawa… you were about to confess then, right?”  


Hinata felt like his heart is about to give out. “I d-don’t know what you’re talking about.”  


“Oh come on! I’ve seen the look on your face that night about a hundred times! That’s the look on the faces of the people who were about to confess to Oikawa.” Iwaizumi points out.  


“I..um..Ah..” Hinata kept clenching his fist and then releasing them. Just to relieve some of the tension.  


“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell anyone.” Iwaizumi’s words surprised Hinata.  


Hinata felt the hard grip on his heart loosened. “Really? Why?”  


Iwaizumi shrugs his shoulders. “It was just the right thing to do.”  


Hinata felt tears start to well in his eyes and bowed at Iwaizumi. “Thank you!”  


Iwaizumi touched Hinata’s shoulder. “Nah, it’s no big deal. You didn’t need to deal with any more crap when you have a crush on Oikawa of all people.”  


“Does _he_ know?” Hinata boldly asks.  


Iwaizumi snorts. “Of course not. Oikawa’s an expert about everything when it comes to volleyball, but when it comes to people’s feelings, sadly he lacks in that department.”  


Hinata exhales in relief. “That’s good.”  


“But, you are gonna confess to him soon right?”  


Hinata suddenly became interested at the ground. “I don’t know.”  


Iwaizumi sighs. “I think you should. Oikawa needs someone like you in his life. Hell, I know you deserve so much better than an asshole like him… But, he needs you.”  


Hinata’s eyes widened. “I don’t know Iwaizumi-san... He’s just way out of my league.”  


“Trust me Hinata. It’s actually the opposite. I won’t force you, but I think if you confess to Oikawa, it’ll be the best thing that will happen to both of you.”  


“But… what if he doesn’t feel the same? And besides he’s straight!”  


Iwaizumi laughs out loud in the middle of the train station. “You have no idea..”  


Hinata just scratched his head. He has no idea what to believe anymore.  


“Look, to be honest I could have gone to same school as you guys. But, after we lost against your team in high school, Oikawa just suddenly became meaner to people. He was so obsessed with winning that he has no idea he’s been hurting the people around him. I wanted him to make friends on his own and learn how to care about people’s feelings for once. I actually think he’s been making some progress and after seeing you with him just now, I’ve actually never seen Oikawa happier..”  


Hinata’s jaw dropped at Iwaizumi’s revelation and he’s never been more confused in his life.  


“I know this is a lot to ask… but, take care of him all right?” Iwaizumi pleads.  


Hinata inhaled deeply. “I’ll do my best.”  


Iwaizumi smiled sincerely at Hinata. He’s bestfriend so unfairly lucky to have this person inlove with him.  


Hinata beamed brightly at Iwaizumi and that’s how Oikawa found them, smiling at each other. “What are you guys smiling about?”  


“Nothing, we were just talking about how shitty your personality is. Hence, why I call you _Shittykawa_.” Iwaizumi replies.  


Oikawa pouted like a ten year old child. “Iwa-chan! Shou-chan! Mean!!”  


Hinata covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing.  


The next set of trains arrived and Iwaizumi said his goodbyes. “Till next time Shittykawa!” Iwaizumi turned his gaze back at Hinata and lingered there for a second. “Hinata...”  


Hinata bowed to Iwaizumi before he got on the trains and Oikawa began tugging at his hand. “What was that about Shou-chan?”  


“Ah! It was nothing.”  


Oikawa stepped closer to Hinata and looked deeply in his eyes. “Did Iwa-chan make a move on you or something?”  


“W-what?! No! And isn’t Iwaizumi-san straight?” Hinata sputters.  


Oikawa pursed his lips. “Yeah, well. You never know with people these days.”  


Hinata suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked Oikawa straight in the eyes. “Yeah, I guess you never do.”  


Oikawa blinked a few times and watched Hinata’s retreating figure in confusion.  


Hinata kept walking ahead with a smile on his face.  


The little of spark of hope in his chest that Oikawa just might feel the same burned a little brighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Hello Romance, are we there yet?
> 
> Hahahaha, we most definitely are! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> Hope we all have a friend like Iwaizumi right? ☜(⌒▽⌒)☞


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hinata finally decides to confess.

Hinata couldn’t sleep that night. He thought a lot about what Iwaizumi said to him and analyzed how he and Oikawa have been interacting with each other these past few months.  


_“I won’t give up on you Chibi-chan!”_  


_“I just always had this feeling that if you were in my life everything would be so much better.”_  


_“You’re lucky I like you..”_  


Hinata felt like his heart will burst because of too much happiness.  


He didn’t want to give any meaning to these words in the past but… Hinata thinks maybe it’s time to stop selling himself short and thought it was time to do something and chase his happiness for himself once and for all.  


So, Hinata decided he’s gonna do it.  


He’s gonna confess to Oikawa.  


The spark of hope in his chest became a fountain of fireworks.  
~

Hinata was on his way back to the dorms to sleep because he didn’t get a wink of sleep last night when he suddenly received a text message from Kenma. Hinata immediately felt guilty. He hasn’t been able to make time for Kenma these days.  


**KENMA:**  


_Meet me at the ramen place now or else our friendship is over._  


Hinata stood in the middle of the hallway with his mouth wide open for about 3 seconds before running like hell to meet Kenma.  


When Hinata got to the ramen place feeling like he just ran a marathon, Kenma was concentrating hard on his PSP with Kuroo grinning beside him while holding Kenma’s phone.  


_Oh._ Hinata guesses it’s kind of bad if Kuroo had to intervene.  


Hinata slowly walked to their table. “..Hi Kenma.”  


Kenma froze in an instant and looked up at Hinata. “Shouyou… why are you here?”  


Hinata rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Ah… Kuroo texted me.”  


Kenma glared at Kuroo and took back his phone.  


“What? You weren’t gonna text him first otherwise.” Kuroo says.  


Hinata sat down at their table. “Look, I’m sorry I’ve been busy Kenma. I just have a lot to catch up on. You know… with being in bedrest for a week.”  


“I understand.” Kenma replies blandly.  


“Right. But, you have time to frolic around with Oikawa in Akihabara. Like you’ve been doing with him almost everyday last week.” Kuroo pipes in.  


Hinata ran a hand in his face. “I was just looking for a gift for my sister and he volunteered to help me, since he knows how to get around Tokyo.”  


Kenma just nods and went back to playing his PSP.  


“Point is, Kitten here misses his bestfriend who seems to have forgotten him, now that he has a boyfriend.” Kuroo says.  


“Oikawa’s not my boyfriend!” Hinata argues rather too loudly that the entire restaurant looked at him.  


Hinata sighs and grabbed Kenma’s hand. “Look, I’m sorry for neglecting you Kenma. I guess I got too carried away with Oikawa. I promise to never do it again!”  


Kenma dropped his PSP and squeezed Hinata’s hand. “You better.”  


Hinata beamed at his bestfriend and Kuroo breathed a sigh of relief.  


“You have no idea how you stressed me out shrimpy.” Kuroo says.  


Hinata smiled sheepishly. “Sorry… and thanks for texting me.”  


“You know I’ll do anything for Kitten here.” Kenma tried to hide his blushing face with his hair.  


Kuroo chuckles at Kenma and then turned towards Hinata. “So, are you and Oikawa official now?”  


“No! We’re just friends for now.” Hinata replies.  


“For _now_? What does that mean? Are you finally gonna confess or something?” Kuroo asks.  


Hinata breathed deeply “I might soon. I’m working on it.”  


“Woah!” Kuroo says.  


Kenma’s eyes widened. “Really Shou? What happened?”  


“Iwaizumi-san and I talked about a lot of things and I realized I should just confess.”  


Kuroo was counting on his fingers and suddenly pumped his fist in the air. “Yes! We’re gonna be rich Kenma!”  


Hinata narrowed his eyes at Kuroo. “Why?”  


“Ah, you’ll find out someday. Just as long as you confess to Oikawa _soon_ okay?”  


Kuroo’s cheschire smile makes Hinata suspect that something else is going on, but decided to ignore it. He has more important things to think about after all.  


Like how the hell is he gonna confess to the love of his life?  


But, it seemed like fate didn’t want him to think about how he’s gonna confess so easily when said love of his life came barreling in the restaurant with Bokuto.  


“Shou-chan!!!”  


“Wow. It’s like he doesn’t even see anyone else anymore..” Kuroo mutters.  


Hinata can feel his heart beating too hard hard in his chest upon seeing Oikawa. “Hi Oikawa-senpai. Bokuto-senpai.”  


“Hey hey hey Hinata! Mah bro! Mah bro’s boo.” Bokuto greets.  


Kenma frowned upon being called Kuroo’s boo.  


“So, are we still on for tomorrow?” Oikawa asked Hinata upon sitting down.  


“Uhh..” Hinata looked towards Kenma who just raised his eyebrow.  


“We can hang out on Sunday.” Kenma says.  


“Okay!” Hinata immediately felt relieved that Kenma didn’t get mad again and faced Oikawa. “Yeah, we’re still on Oikawa-san..”  


Oikawa glared at Hinata.  


“I mean Oikawa-senpai!” Hinata immediately corrects himself. Calling Oikawa, _senpai_ is still too awkward for him.  


Meanwhile, Kuroo and Bokuto were watching their interaction with wild interest.  


“Hey Oikawa! Do you have a Senpai kink or something?” Bokuto asks out of nowhere.  


Oikawa’s jaw dropped and his face was blushing furiously. “What?! I do not have a Senpai kink! Who told you that? Was it Iwa-chan? Don’t believe everything he says, all of them are lies!”  


Kuroo and Bokuto just laughed at Oikawa’s outburst and Hinata can feel himself blushing at the thought of Oikawa having a Senpai kink while Kenma just played his PSP without a care in the world.  


Suddenly, Bokuto turned his gaze at Hinata. “What about you Hinata? What’s your type?”  


Hinata felt his heart spike up at Bokuto’s question and looked at Oikawa’s reaction who seemed suddenly too interested in finishing all of his water.  


All of a sudden, Hinata had an idea. If he wanted to confess to Oikawa, he has to learn how to be bold.  


And he can start practicing right now.  


Hinata focused his eyes at Oikawa’s form and smirked.  


“Pretty setters.”  


It was like a fountain of water bursts from Oikawa’s lips and Kuroo and Bokuto laughed even louder and for once something became more interesting for Kenma to set down his PSP to look at Hinata with wide eyes.  


Kuroo wiped the tears in his eyes from laughing too much. “Really Shrimpy, like who?”  


Hinata watched with interest as Oikawa tried to hide his blushing face by turning back to cough on his hand. Hinata decided to play this out.  


Hinata rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Bokuto. “I’m sorry to admit this Bokuto-senpai, but I kind of had a crush on Akaashi-san during our training camp…”  


Oikawa turned his head sharply. “What?”  


Meanwhile the look of pure joy was in Bokuto’s eyes. “OH MY GOD!!! MY DISCIPLE HAS THE SAME TASTE AS ME! I don’t think I can share him with you though.”  


Hinata tried his best to avoid Oikawa’s piercing gaze. “That’s okay Bokuto-san, it was two years ago.”  


“So… pretty setters huh? Who else did you have a crush on? Refreshing kun? Yahaba? Ken-chan here?” Oikawa asks in a tirade.  


“Hey!” Kuroo tried to hug Kenma to his chest, but Kenma wouldn’t let him, as it would interfere with his playing.  


Oikawa continued his questioning. “Oh my God! Don’t tell me you had a crush on Tobio-chan?! Or worse, Shirabuuuu?!!! No! No! No! If you had a crush on Shirabu, you and I aren’t friends anymore Shou-chan!”  


Hinata was biting his lip to keep himself from laughing. Too bad Oikawa didn’t ask if Hinata had a crush on him.  


He might have said yes.  
~

Hinata dodged Asato’s meddling with his hair this time and met with Oikawa unscathed and on time. Hinata did put more effort in his clothes though, just in case he suddenly gathers the courage to confess today. But, of course Oikawa looks even more stylish than usual.  


“Ready to go Shou-chan?” Oikawa asks.  


“Yes!” Hinata answered happily.  


It was a beautiful and sunny day and the trains weren’t crowded too much, so Oikawa didn’t have to do his knight and shining armor thing by protecting Hinata’s body with his own.  


Akihabara had even more people than usual though, but they have more time to look around this time.  


After two hours of frantic searching and going from shop to shop, Hinata finally found the anime merchandise that his sister desperately wanted.  


“I better win brother of the year award for this!” Hinata declares.  


“What about me Shou-chan? What award do I win for helping you out?” Oikawa asks.  


“Uhhh..” A small part of Hinata wanted to say. _Will kisses do?_  


Oikawa chuckles. “I’m just kidding. I’m the one who volunteered to help you anyway. Hey, it’s still early! We can grab some lunch and then look around for ourselves this time. What do you say?”  


“Sounds good Senpai!”  


Seeing the crinkle of Oikawa’s eyes as he smiled made Hinata feel like he’s having the time of his life.  
~

Oikawa went inside the restaurant first to ask if they have a table while Hinata waited outside.  


Hinata suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his bag and his eyes widened when he saw it was his sister calling.  


_“Ni-chan! It’s Saturday! Why haven’t you called yet?”_  


Hinata sighed at his sister’s strictness. “I know Natsu. I was gonna call this evening. Ni-chan’s busy looking for your gift at the moment and besides, I’m coming home next weekend for your birthday anyway.”  


_“Hmmph! Okay! I forgive you now! But you better not forget to call this evening, okay?”_  


“Yes Yes.”  


_“Hold on, mom wants to talk to you.”_  


“Okay.”  


_“Shouyou, dear. How are you? Are you all set to come home next weekend?”_  


“Yes mom! Actually, I just bought Natsu’s gift in Akihabara!”  


_“Akihabara? Isn’t it crowded? What if your knee gets strained again?”_  


“I’m fine mom! And last time my knee got strained because of volleyball.”  


_“And you kept your promise this time right? No volleyball for at least 2 years.”_  


Hinata looked at Oikawa who was talking to the manager. “Yes. No volleyball for 2 years..”  


_“Good. Cause I don’t want to get another call saying my son almost destroyed his knee again.”_  


Hinata suddenly felt guilty for worrying his family. “I’m sorry, mom.”  


_“It’s okay honey. It’s a mother’s job to worry. So, your knee is okay now? It doesn’t hurt anymore?”_  


“It hurts sometimes when I have to take the stairs and I guess there will pain sometimes when the weather gets too cold, but otherwise my knee is okay.”  


_“Oh, honey… you know your uncle’s offer still stands.”_  


“No mom! It’s too far away from you and Natsu!”  


_“Honey, you’re already too far away from us. What’s really holding you back? You know this will be good for you..”_  


Hinata looked back inside the restaurant and saw that Oikawa was about to go out. Good thing his mother didn’t ask _who_ was holding him back. He couldn’t lie to his mother.  


“My answer’s final mom. I’ll see you this weekend okay?”  


Hinata’s mother sighed in the phone. _“Fine. Love you honey.”_  


“Bye. Love you too!”  


“Girlfriend?”  


Hinata almost dropped his phone upon hearing Oikawa’s voice.  


“Um, that was my mom.”  


Oikawa snickers. “Aww, Shou-chan! Do you call your mom a lot? That’s so sweet!”  


Hinata narrowed his eyes at Oikawa. “What? And you don’t call your mom everytime you wanna complain about your life?”  


Oikawa glared back at Hinata. “How did you know I call my mom everytime I want to complain about something? Did Iwa-chan tell you?! I should seriously ban him from talking to you guys!”  


Hinata laughs. “He didn’t! Now I gotta let Kuroo and Bokuto know!”  


“You wouldn’t dare! Now, come on Shou-chan I’m hungry! I flirted with the manager to get us a table!”  


Hinata can only gape at how shameless Oikawa is.  
~

After they were done eating, they looked around Akihabara for fun. Hinata was able to buy something for himself and bought something in advance for Kenma and Asato’s birthday.  


When Oikawa went to the bathroom, Hinata went back to a store where he saw something perfect for Oikawa. Hinata bought Oikawa an alien phone stand as thanks for helping him study.  


While Hinata was in the store, a ring caught caught his eye. It was silver, but what was interesting about it, is if you twisted the ring and let the light hit it, the map of the solar system will reflect. Remembering how much Oikawa loved anything about outer space and hoping he will like it.  


Hinata bought it, but said to himself he’ll only give it when he finally confesses to Oikawa. It seemed a little too intimate to give a ring to a _friend_ after all.  


When they met up again, Hinata shoved the box of the alien phone stand in Oikawa’s chest while blushing.  


“Shou-chan! What is this?” Oikawa asks while opening the box.  


“I-it’s just a thanks for everything that you’ve done for me.” Hinata’s blush already reached his neck at this point.  


Oikawa gasped when he saw what was inside. “Shou-chan!!! This is so wonderful! I can’t believe you remembered I like aliens!”  


“Uhhh… they’re all over your office senpai.”  


“Still! I’m so happy you gave this to me! I’ll treasure it forever!” Oikawa looked at Hinata with pure delight in his eyes.  


“Really, it’s no big dea-“ Hinata’s sentence was cut-off when Oikawa hugged him to his chest.  


“Thank you Shou-chan! This is one of the best days of my life!” Oikawa says right next to Hinata’s ears.  


Hinata feels like he’s about to pass out from how fast his heart was beating and secretly agreed that this is one of the best days of his life too.  
~

Hinata and Oikawa looked around again and this time they surprisingly took too long at a cosplay store for girls and debated on who it would look better on.  


So, naturally they both tried something out.  


Hinata tried a pink frilly maid costume and wasn’t really surprised that it fit him. He just hopes no one he knows sees him wearing this.  


_Please God, don’t let Tsukishima magically appear here right now._  


Hinata peeked outside first, decided it was safe and went out of the fitting room. “Oikawa-senpai?”  


Oikawa opened the door and came out.  


Hinata recognized the blue skirt and the huge red ribbon in his chest and Oikawa’s arms were donned with white gloves.  


And then Oikawa put the blonde wig on with the pigtails.  


Hinata knew he was gaping like a fish. And no matter how much he wanted to ramble on how pretty Oikawa is, the first words out of his mouth are…  


“Sailor moon?! How did you find one that fits you?”  


Oikawa gasps. “Are you telling me I’m fat Shou-chan?!”  


“No!” Hinata sputters while trying to control his blush. “Well, you have broad shoulders senpai..”  


Oikawa smirks and Hinata feels like his soul went up to the heavens. “Heh. Thanks Shou-chan!”  


Oikawa eyed Hinata’s costume from head to toe. “You look really pretty Shou-chan!”  


Hinata’s blush intensifies. “T-thanks.”  


“Now, let’s take a picture!”  


“No!”  
~

Hinata couldn’t get out of taking a picture with Oikawa while wearing silly girls’ costumes. But, made the other promise not to show it to anyone.  


“You better not show it to anyone senpai! Or else I’ll tell everyone how much you call your mom on a daily basis!”  


Oikawa’s eyes glinted. “Wow Shou-chan! I had no idea you had a dark side after all.”  


Hinata and Oikawa were strolling peacefully for awhile and Hinata can’t help but think that this was really starting to look like a date. All of a sudden, Hinata heard someone calling him.  


“Shou-chan!”  


Hinata frowned because Oikawa was right beside him and then turned around and gasped when he saw who it was. “Izumin?!”  


Hinata met his childhood friend halfway for a tight hug.  


“Oh my god! What are you doing here? I thought you stayed for college in Miyagi?” Hinata asks.  


“Our class organized a field trip here in Tokyo!” Izumi replies.  


Hinata looked back at Oikawa and saw that he was frowning slightly. “This is my senpai, Oikawa Tooru. And senpai, this is my childhood friend Yukitaka Izumi.”  


“Nice to meet you.” Oikawa said with a tight smile.  


“Nice to meet you too!” Izumi says to Oikawa then faced Hinata. “Hey! Kouji goes to Tokyo for university too right?”  


“Yeah! But, we haven’t seen each other yet cause we’re both too busy, but we’re planning to roam around Tokyo for the break.” Hinata replies.  


“Oh? Are you finally both giving it a try?” Izumi smirks.  


Hinata seems confused. “Give what a try?”  


“Oh you know… you and him. Oh, come on! Kouji’s had a crush on you for years! Didn’t you notice how he was blushing so much everytime you thanked him for playing volleyball with you?”  


“No. I honestly didn’t know…” Hinata feels so dumbfounded with this information.  


“He always said he was gonna confess, but then his nerves would get the best of him until he loses the opportunity again.”  


“Ohhh..” Upon hearing the word ‘confess’ Hinata looked at Oikawa whose gaze is focused faraway.  


“Anyway, I don’t wanna keep you from your friend. Text me when you visit home, okay?” Izumi says.  


“Sure! I’ll visit next week actually! It’s Natsu’s birthday!”  


Hinata hugs Izumi goodbye and turns back to Oikawa. “Sorry about that Senpai. I just haven’t seen him in a few months.”  


“No worries Shou-chan.”  


Hinata doesn’t know why, but Oikawa seems like he’s in a bad mood all of a sudden.  


They continued to walk around, but didn’t know where they were going. Suddenly, Hinata remembered what Izumi said. About how Kouji tried to confess so many times, but got too nervous until he lost the opportunity.  


Hinata only knew about Kouji’s feelings today and realized he didn’t want the same thing to happen with him and Oikawa. Hinata was about to call out Oikawa when he suddenly turned around.  


“Can we go home now Chibi-chan? I’m not really feeling well.” Oikawa says.  


Hinata deflated at the lost of opportunity. “Okay.”  


Oikawa turned to walk to the train station first while Hinata just followed behind.  


Hinata can’t help, but think there’s something wrong.  


Oikawa just called him _Chibi-chan_ again.  


Hinata just hopes this isn’t a bad omen to anything.  
~  


Things didn’t look good on Monday too. Oikawa texted Hinata that he couldn’t meet with him for awhile because of volleyball practices.  


Hinata just hopes Oikawa’s not avoiding him. Oikawa didn’t have a problem tutoring him before even when they had volleyball practices all the time.  


Hinata tried to think back on what happened on Saturday before Oikawa started acting weird.  


Things were okay with them until Izumi arrived.  


Hinata tried to rack up his brain on what exactly could set Oikawa off.  


_Was it because of what Izumi said about Kouji?_  


Hinata’s froze at the thought then disregarded it.  


Why on earth would Oikawa be upset because of that?  
~

After four days of radio silence, Oikawa texted Hinata that they can meet again the next day for a tutor session.  


Hinata felt the stress leave his body all at once.  


Hinata decided to apologize when they meet and hopes he can find a way to confess too.  


At this point, if Hinata doesn’t confess he feels like he’s might just blurt it out in a public place with Kuroo present in company.  


The next day Hinata went straight to Oikawa’s office after classes.  


He took a deep breath first before knocking.  


“Come in.”  


Hinata went inside and saw Oikawa at his desk reading something. “Hi Oikawa-san.”  


Oikawa looked up and frowned.  


Hinata felt his chest constricting.  


“Really, Shou-chan? How many times do I have to tell you to call me Senpai?” Oikawa says.  


Hinata felt like crying with relief. All is right with the world again.  


“Sorry, Senpai.”  


Hinata sat down and took his notes from his bag. Hinata stole a glance at Oikawa’s face and saw that he really was in a good mood this time and proceeded with the tutor session.  


When they were finally done with studying, Hinata took the chance to say sorry.  


“Senpai… did I do something wrong last Saturday? If I did, I would like to apologize.”  


Oikawa’s eyes widened at Hinata’s apology. “No! You didn’t do anything Shou-chan. I really was just not feeling well.”  


Hinata exhaled deeply. “Okay.”  


Oikawa looked at Hinata’s face for awhile. “Is there something else?”  


“Um...” Hinata looked down. “Do you have plans after this Senpai? I have something important to tell you..”  


“Oh.” Hinata looked up at Oikawa’s sad tone. “I kind of already have plans Shou-chan. Maybe, next time?”  


“Sure.” Hinata was disappointed, but decided that maybe it’s just not the right time.  


There was a knock on the door all of a sudden and Oikawa got up to open it.  


On the other side of the door was a very pretty girl with long black hair, fair skin and is wearing expensive clothes. “Hi Senpai! Ready to go?”  


“Yeah, sure!” Oikawa replies then turns to Hinata. “By the way, this is my friend Hinata Shouyou.”  


The pretty girl smiled at Hinata. “Hi!”  


Hinata smiled back.  


“And Shou-chan, this is Ami-chan my girlfriend..”  


Hinata’s smile faltered.  


“What?” Hinata whispered.  


“Ami-chan here confessed to me two days ago and of course, how could I reject such a pretty girl like her right?” Oikawa says.  


The girl blushed and smiled so happily. “Senpai!”  


Meanwhile, Hinata felt like he was drowning.  


Why else couldn’t he breathe all of a sudden?  


Hinata quickly gathered his things. “You know what, I just remembered I actually have to meet Kenma right now!”  


Hinata rapidly tried to blink away his tears and bowed. “Thank you for everything Oikawa-san!”  


Hinata can’t help, but painfully remember how this looks like exactly like the first time he tried to confess.  


“I actually think I don’t need your help studying anymore! So, this is probably our last study session. Again… Thank you for everything!” Hinata said all of this while bowing.  


It probably looks weird for Oikawa and his girlfriend, but Hinata doesn’t care. Because somehow this is the best way that Hinata can conceal his tears.  


Hinata ran out of there really fast after that.  


Hinata ran and ran.  


Hinata ran until he couldn’t see anyone and it was just him and his broken heart.  


And the spark of hope in chest slowly died and faded into nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uwaah! I'm sorry guys. Please don't kill me! .·´¯`(>▂<)´¯`·.
> 
> Didn't mean to hurt our sunshine boi. It will all be explained soon!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hinata tries to find comfort in his family and friends and came up with a crazy idea to get over Oikawa along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings my lovelies!
> 
> I'm sorry for not being able to respond to your comments last time. I just don't know how to respond without giving anything away. But, I just want to say how much I appreciate the Kudos and the feedback. As an aspiring writer, you have no idea how much it means when readers react strongly to my writing. So again, thank you! （*＾3＾）/～♡
> 
> Anyways, here's a fresh update for you guys! Let me know what you guys think. ;)

Kuroo was just on his merry way from his parent’s house to go home to his and Kenma’s shared apartment when he saw a boy lying on the side of the road.  


He usually takes a cab from the train station, but decided to walk it off today because he ate too much of his mother’s cooking.  


Although Kuroo has walked these streets alone before, he’s never seen something like this. It’s usually a safe neighborhood, so he’s never had to worry.  


Kuroo decided to take a closer look at the boy’s face.  


When Kuroo saw a tuft of orange hair peeking from the boy’s hoodie his entire body went cold with fear.  


Hands shaking, Kuroo slowly lifted the hood from the boy’s face.  
~

“KENMA!!!”  


Kenma flinched upon hearing someone yelling his name and the harsh banging on their door.  


He paused the game he was playing and walked slowly to the door.  


“Kenma, hurry up and open the door now!”  


Kenma stopped in his tracks upon recognizing Kuroo’s voice and decided to run to open the door and felt his heart stop at what he saw.  


Kuroo looked worse for the wear and was carrying a passed out Hinata in his arms.  


“What happened?!” Kenma asks.  


Kuroo carried Hinata all the way to their bedroom and set Hinata down on the bed. “I found him passed out on the side of the road, 2 miles away from school.”  


“Oh my god…” Kenma covered his mouth with his hand to stop himself from whimpering.  


“He woke up for a bit and I told him that I’m taking him to the hospital, but he said he just needed to sleep, so I took a cab to go here. I couldn’t ask him what happened because he passed out again.” Kuroo says.  


Kenma put his hand on Hinata’s forehead and felt it was very warm. “He has a fever. He’s not hurt anywhere else?”  


“He has gashes on his arms and a small one on his head. He looked like he ran all the way from school and tripped really hard and I guess... he just decided not to get back up anymore.” Kuroo says while looking concerned at Hinata.  


Kenma felt like something was squeezing his heart when his friend looked like this. “I’ll go treat his wounds and text Asato that Hinata’s sleeping here for the night. And then all we can do is wait for him to wake up.”  
~

When Hinata slowly opened his eyes, he saw a ceiling that was not his and the bed he was lying in wasn’t his too and his body felt like it was on fire.  


Hinata turned his head to the side and saw Kenma sitting on the chair beside the bed playing his PSP. “Kenma…”  


Kenma froze upon his hearing his name and easily discarded his PSP on the side. Something Hinata has never seen Kenma do.  


“Are you okay Shou? Kuroo he’s awake!”  


Kenma put his hand on Hinata’s forehead and grimaced. “You still have a slight fever..”  


Kuroo entered the room after a few seconds and looked at Hinata with heavy concern. “Shrimpy! You had us worried. Are you feeling better now?”  


Hinata felt up his head with his palm and looked at the bandages on his arms. “How did I get here?”  


Kuroo and Kenma looked surprised.  


“You mean you don’t remember?” Kuroo asks.  


Hinata felt like his mind was floating and decided to shake his head.  


Kenma grabbed Hinata’s hand. “Shouyou, Kuroo found you passed out on the side of the road..”  


Hinata blinked a few times. “Oh.”  


Kenma and Kuroo looked at each for a moment.  


“Shouyou, I need you to tell me how you got so far away from school?” Kenma asks.  


Hinata had a blank look on his face. “I ran.”  


“And why were you passed out on the road?” Kenma asked again.  


Hinata shrugs his shoulders. “I tripped, I guess.”  


Kenma was beginning to get alarmed with how uncaring his friend is with his well-being and squeezed Hinata’s hand and looked deeply in his eyes. “Please tell me what really happened Shouyou…”  


Hinata felt his eyes slowly well up with tears.  


He didn’t want to remember anymore. But, he needed to answer his friend’s questions who was looking at him with worry.  


“He has a girlfriend. Oikawa has a girlfriend. He introduced her to me after our study session. So, I guess confessing would be pointless now.” Hinata pulled at his hair. “God! I feel so stupid! Why did I ever think I had chance?”  


Kenma and Kuroo’s eyes went wide with shock.  


Kuroo suddenly looked livid. “That fucker! I’m gonna call Iwaizumi..”  


“No! Please don’t!” Hinata says with urgency. “I just want to move on now…”  


It was like a dam broke and suddenly Hinata felt all the pain he was trying to suppress.  


“I just want to move on, so the pain can finally stop…”  


Hinata tried wiping his tears from his face, but new ones kept falling.  


“I just want the pain to stop. Cause when the pain stops, I’ll finally stop crying… I’m so tired of crying..”  


Hinata covered his face with his hands and lets himself cry.  


Kenma’s heart went out to his friend and hugged him to his chest. “It’ll all be okay Shouyou. We’re here for you..”  


Kuroo sighed heavily and rubbed Hinata’s back. This is all that they can do for their friend now.  
~

Kenma tried to stop him from leaving and told him to rest, but Hinata made a promise to visit his sister and he intends to keep it.  


Maybe seeing his family is the only thing that’s gonna make him feel better now.  


Hinata looked absently at the window while sitting on the train.  


Hinata found it was funny that he thought he’d finally be happy if he went to Tokyo. It was all wishfull thinking in the end.  


After a few hours, they finally arrived at his station. Hinata gathered up his things and got out of the train and was surprised to find his family waiting for him.  


Hinata dropped his bags as Natsu ran up to him and caught her in a hug.  


“I missed you Nii-chan!”  


Hinata felt tears falling from his eyes. “I missed you too!”  


Natsu broke away from the hug and frowned at him. “Why are you crying Nii-chan?”  


Hinata gave a small laugh. “I just really missed you guys!”  


Hinata’s parents caught up with them and Hinata greeted them with a tight hug. His tears couldn’t seem to stop from falling.  


“If you’re gonna cry so much like this, maybe you shouldn’t have left Nii-chan!” Natsu says.  


Hinata can’t help but painfully agree.  
~

Hinata tried to distract himself while he was at home.  


Even though he kept crying at random times.  


Like when he gave his gift to Natsu and remembered his memories of finding it with Oikawa.  


When he met up with Izumi and he asked who was his tall and handsome friend at Akihabara.  


When his mother asked if he found someone special in Tokyo…  


Hinata even tried playing with a ball in their backyard, but gave up after 5 minutes when he remembered how happy he was when he hit Oikawa’s toss.  


Oikawa was everywhere and it was killing him inside.  


Before he knew it, he was at the station waiting for the train to go to Tokyo again with Natsu crying at his leg.  


“Do I really have to go mom? Can’t I just stay here with you guys?” Hinata asks.  


“Don’t be silly Shouyou! What happened to you? Last time you were so happy to go to Tokyo..”  


Hinata was silent for awhile. “Nothing.”  


Hinata knew he was telling the truth. He left home a little bit broken a few months ago and nothing was absolutely different this time.  


When his train arrived, Hinata hugged his parents goodbye and kissed Natsu on the forehead. “Nii-chan, will call you okay?”  


“You better!” Ntasu says while sniffing.  


Hinata waved at his family when he got on the train and looked for a seat.  


Hinata looked at the windows absently again and tried not to think that he and Oikawa are gonna be in the same place again after a few hours.  


Just before they reached his station Hinata took out the ring that he was supposed to give Oikawa when he confessed. He twirled around the spherical thing between his fingers and looked at it like it represented all the hope of his chance with Oikawa and left it at the train’s window.  


Kenma offered to fetch him at the station again, but Hinata declined as he didn’t want to bother his friend any further.  


He’d done enough of that all these years.  


Hinata took a cab right after he got to Tokyo and closed his eyes when the cab passed by streets where he tried to run himself ragged thinking he could run away from all his problems.  


Asato was there when he got to the dorms and Hinata’s thankful that his friend didn’t ask a lot of questions and only said. “I’m just here, if you want to talk.”  


Hinata gave Asato a small smile and then fell asleep right after.  


When Hinata’s alarm blared the next day, his hand paused before he hit the snooze button and thought about how he wasn’t ready to see Oikawa yet and went right back under the covers of his bed.  
~

Hinata screeched when his legs were literally pulled from his bed the next morning.  


Asato, the bastard was grinning maniacally at him while holding both his legs.  


“W-what the hell are you doing?!” Hinata sputters.  


“Ah! So he speaks!” Asato says.  


“Let go of my legs!” Hinata ordered.  


“Nope. We’re going outside today!” Asato declared happily.  


“No! I’m going back to sleep!” Hinata tried to crawl back to his bed, but Asato just pulled him back easily again.  


“Nuh-uh! You slept all day yesterday buddy! We’re going to classes instead!”  


“I’m not ready to see Oikawa yet!”  


Asato sighed upon seing the tears in Hinata’s eyes. “Fine. Just come outside with me okay? I’ll take you to my special hideout. There’s no Oikawa there, I promise!”  


Hinata sniffs loudy. “Fine.”  
~

When Asato said _special hideout_ , he actually meant the botanical garden that only the biology majors had access to.  


It was a beautiful garden with iridescent blues and greens of blade-like leaves from various plants and different colored flowers bursts into bloom and in the center, a stained-glass gazebo can be found with chairs inside that will give you the perfect view of the garden. But, Hinata’s not exactly keen on getting suspended just because Asato wanted to cheer him up by bringing him to his ‘special hideout.’  


“How the hell did you get access here? I don’t think we should be here dude.” Hinata says.  


“I have a classmate who’s a double major on biology and computer engineering and allowed me to have access to this place.”  


Hinata looked incredulously at Asato for a second. Sometimes he forgets Asato was a genius who likes to make friends with geniuses like him from time to time.  


“It’s beautiful, right?”  


“Yeah…” Hinata says blandy.  


Asato looks at Hinata with wide eyes. “Sheesh. Where the hell did cheerful Hinata go?”  


“Oh, you know. He tried his luck with love and failed spectacularly.” Hinata replies.  


Asato sighs. “Hiding in your bedroom isn’t the solution dude.”  


Hinata glared at Asato. “Well, if you have any _genius_ suggestions, please tell me now! Because I already did everything! And I can’t…”  


Hinata chokes a sob.  


“I just can’t do this! I don’t know what to do to forget him! I don’t know what to do anymore..”  


Asato’s heart aches in seeing his friend break down. “I’m sorry..”  


Hinata wipes his face aggressively. “No. You’re only trying to help. I’m sorry for snapping at you.”  


“It’s okay man, I know you’re feeling really down right now.”  


“God! I hate being in love so much!” Hinata sniffs.  


“Love may have the longest arms, but it can still fall short of an embrace.” Asato says another one of his cryptic quotes.  


Hinata was silent for awhile and then surprisingly laughs. “Oh my God! I think I actually got that one!”  


Asato grins widely. “Happy to help man!”  


“It’s like saying no matter how much I love Oikawa, it will never be enough to make him love me back.”  


Asato’s smile falters. “Ugh! I said that to cheer you up, not to bum you out even more!”  


Hinata exhales heavily and looks around the beautiful garden. “Should I just go back home?”  


Asato frowns. “Well, you can. But, there’s a chance you might see him there too. He’s goes back from time to time right?”  


Hinata scratches his head. “You’re right... what if I just transfer to another school here in Tokyo?”  


“Hmmn... are you confident you won’t run into him here?” Asato asks.  


Hinata pulled at his hair. “Argh! I swear this guy is everywhere!”  


“Yeah! Not to mention, he might still find a way to bother you, even if you no longer went to school here... “ Asato’s eyes widened when he realized something. “Sheesh, are you gonna have to _leave_ Japan just so you can get over him?”  


Hinata was silent for awhile and then his eyes widened comically.  


Asato narrows his eyes at Hinata. “Hinata… what are you thinking? You know I’m just kidding right?”  


“Um.. I’m gonna make some phonecalls!” Hinata says before running away.  


“Hinata! I’m just kidding! Don’t do it! Kenma’s gonna kill me!” Asato yells at Hinata’s retreating back.  


When Hinata deemed it was a safe distance away from Asato, he took out his phone and dialed a number.  


After a few rings, they finally answered.  


_“Shouyou dear, did you need something?”_  


“Mom, about uncle’s offer… I think I changed my mind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger. This was originally longer, but I had to split it in two parts because I felt like the chapter needed to end here. 
> 
> But, no worries because I'll be updating again in just a short bit.
> 
> Thank you for your patience, you guys are the best!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hinata says goodbye to all but one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been told I broke a lot of hearts on Chapter 11, so here's a back to back update to make it up to you guys! Also, Kagehina feels are slipping through the cracks in this one again, haha.（*´▽`*)

Hinata talked with his mom for more than an hour.  


They talked about the pros and cons of him leaving and they both decided that it was for the best that he gave it a try.  


His mom was sad that he’ll be further away, but she’s been always been convinced that it was the best option for his injury to heal.  


The more Hinata talked about it with his mom, the more he realized how good this decision will be for him and not just a way to forget Oikawa.  


Hinata’s mom said she’ll arrange things with his uncle and now, all that’s left for Hinata to do is to start telling the people closest to him and he already has an idea on where to start first.  


Hinata’s never been to Kageyama’s school before, even though it was only a half hour away by train. He was scared that he’d get incredibly jealous and be reminded of everything that he lost ever since his injury which just might push him to fall into the pit of depression.  


Yet, looking at how big and grand Kageyama’s school is now. Hinata admits he only feels a slight ache.  


Right now, Hinata’s need to start over and redeem himself overpowers everything else.  


“Oi, dumbass!”  


Hinata was distracted from his thoughts and looked at the familiar tall figure walking towards him.  


Hinata grinned widely at Kageyama. “Your vocabulary never really improved. Your insults are all the same!”  


Kageyama just snorts. “Like yours is any better.”  


Hinata gave himself some time to look at his longtime friend and partner. They don’t see each other much these days and it will be even less in the future.  


Kageyama narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Hinata. “Why are you staring at me like that?”  


Hinata shrugs. “Nothing. I just miss you.”  


Kageyama blushes and grabs Hinata’s head. “Dumbass, you’re freaking me out! Why did you wanna meet me in the first place?”  


Hinata shrieks and tries to take away Kageyama’s hand from his head. “Stop trying to crush my skull and I’ll tell you!”  


Kageyama finally relents and releases Hinata’s head. “So, what did you want?”  


Hinata breathes deeply and tries to calm his heart. What he’s gonna ask isn’t easy after all.  


“Say, if I go somewhere very far away… for a very long time. But, when I come back I can finally play volleyball regularly again, will you be okay with that?” Hinata asks.  


Kageyama blinks a few times. “How long?”  


“I don’t know…” Hinata replies.  


Kageyama became silent after that and just looked at the ground. Hinata started to panic.  


“Did Oikawa do something again?” Kageyama asks.  


“N-no! I promise I’m not just doing this just to get away from him… I’m doing this for me too.” Hinata says.  


Kageyama studied Hinata for a moment. “If that’s what’s gonna make you happy, who am I to say no?”  


Hinata beamed his special smile for Kageyama. “And when I come back, you better be ready because I’m totally gonna play in the Olympics!”  


Kageyama snorts. “Then you better be ready to train like hell when you come back dumbass!”  


Hinata laughs really hard and then leapts to give Kageyama a crushing hug.  


Kageyama flails and tries to push Hinata away from him. “Dumbass, let go! People are gonna think we’re together or something!”  


“Who cares? They’re not the first ones to think that anyway!” Hinata says while laughing and kept hugging Kageyama tightly until Kageyama finally gave in and hugged Hinata back.  
~

Hinata’s fist was poised to knock on Kenma’s door, but took his hand back at the last second.  


If saying goodbye to Kageyama was hard, this was infinitely more difficult. Because Kenma’s more inclined to change Hinata’s mind than Kageyama and is not afraid to use emotions against him.  


Hinata took a deep breath and was gonna knock again when he noticed someone’s presence behind him.  


“Why do you look so afraid? Did you step on one of his video games or something?” Kuroo asks grinning.  


“No… I just have something important to tell him.” Hinata says.  


Kuroo whistles. “Whatever it is, goodluck on that! With the look on your face, I’m guessing Kenma’s probably not gonna like it.”  


Hinata rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah..”  


Hinata looked at Kuroo for a moment. “Hey, I just want to say thank you for taking care of me last time. Kenma’s really lucky to have you.”  


Kuroo grinned widely. “Don’t be surprise shrimpy, I’m actually a nice person.”  


Hinata snorts. “Like I’ve never heard of _that_ before and yet, you make bets about me and Oikawa with the rest of the volleyball team.”  


Kuroo’s eyes were as big as saucers and Hinata just laughs and knocks on their door. “Kenma!”  


They heard the familiar sound of Kenma dropping his controller and running to open the door. “Shou-“ Kenma glares upon seeing his boyfriend. “Kuroo, why didn’t you just open the door with your key?”  


“You need the exercise.” Hinata and Kuroo said at the same time.  


Kenma glares at them and opens the door wide.  


Hinata began to feel nervous again as he entered Kenma and Kuroo’s apartment.  


Kuroo looks at Hinata and pats his back reassuringly. “I’ll leave you guys alone and go hang out in the bedroom.”  


Hinata nods at Kuroo and turns his gaze back at Kenma.  


“Kenma, I have something to tell you..” Hinata starts.  


“Okay.. let’s sit over here.” Kenma pats the couch.  


Hinata sits down and took a deep breath. “Kenma, do you still remember my uncle’s offer?”  


“Yes..” Kenma frowns.  


Hinata’s heart was pounding really hard and his knees started to bounce.  


Before he chickens out, Hinata takes a deep breath and blurted out the words. “I changed my mind and decided to accept it.”  


“Oh.”  


Kenma was silent for awhile, but Hinata didn’t miss the way he was clenching his hands.  


“Do you really have to?” Kenma asks.  


“I have to do it.. I _want_ to do it Kenma..” Hinata replies.  


Tears slowly start to fall from Kenma’s eyes and Hinata panics and crouches down in front of his friend. “Don’t cry, Kenma! Come on, our friendship has survived on Skype and texts alone before. We can do it again!”  


Kenma sniffs. “It’s not the same! It’s too far away. Can’t you just transfer at Kageyama’s school or something?”  


“To be honest, I’ve thought about it… but, if I just transfer to another school, I’ll just do it because of Oikawa. This way, I’ll be doing it for me too.”  


“I know I said before that I’ll support whatever decision you make Shouyou, but this is just too much. I finally have you here..I’ve barely had you for a year and now you’re gonna be far away again.” Kenma wipes furiously at his flowing tears.  


Tears started to well in Hinata eyes as well and he squeezes his friends’s hands. “It’s not like I’m not coming back Kenma.”  


Kenma sniffs. “I don’t know why, but I feel like this is Asato’s fault.”  


Hinata laughs. “Speaking of Asato, you guys take care of each other, okay?”  


“Of course. I can still tolerate him sometimes..” Kenma says.  


Hinata looks Kenma straight in the eyes. “I can’t leave until I have your blessing Kenma..”  


“Why? I’m not your mom Shouyou.” Kenma asks.  


Hinata snorts. “No, but you’re my _bestfriend_.”  


Kenma sighs heavily. “Fine. But, you better be online everyday or else I’m going over there to check if you’re still alive.”  


Tears started to well in Hinata’s eyes again and tackles Kenma for a hug. “Thank you.” Hinata whispers.  


Kenma hugs Hinata back and they broke away after a minute.  


“What are you gonna tell Oikawa? He’ll bug you about it for sure..” Kenma asks.  


Hinata’s heart clenches upon hearing Oikawa’s name. “I’m gonna tell him everything this time.”  


“Everything?”  


_“Everything.”_  
~

While he was still at Kenma’s apartment, Hinata decided to tell the news to the rest of the Karasuno Volleyball Club members.  


Suga made a group chat and that’s where they all check up on each other and made announcements if everyone’s in town and they all meet up for dinner.  


Almost all of them expressed their support for Hinata and wished him well while Tanaka and Nishinoya said they’re jealous he gets to meet a lot of international babes.  


Meanwhile, Tsukishima accused Hinata that it’s totally just a cover up and he’s really going there to get an operation to get taller.  


Hinata told him to eat shit and it was all chaos afterwards.  


As much as Hinata missed them and wanted to keep talking, he needed to take care of important things first.  


Hinata sighs upon reaching the class registrar’s office. The day had been emotionally taxing for Hinata and knowing he’s about to face someone who obviously dislikes him makes it worse.  


_Let’s just get this over with._ Hinata thinks before knocking on the door.  


“Come in.”  


Hinata opens the door and the stern woman immediately glares at him.  


“Good afternoon Arima-san.”  


“Hmmn, what do you want boy? If you want to transfer to another class, just stop attending and wait for the semester to end.”  


Hinata winced at the harsh suggestion. “Actually no, I’m here to inquire on the requirements to transfer to another school next semester.”  


Arima looked at Hinata for a long moment before giving him a paper with a list of requirements. “I don’t get the youth these days. Why do you want to make things difficult for you, I’ll never know..”  


_You have no idea.._ Hinata thinks miserably.  


“Thank you for this.” Hinata bows to leave and focused his attention on the piece of paper that’s about to change his life.  
~

Hinata looks somberly at the sunset while walking back to his dorm. He can’t believe that in just a day, he decided to change everything in his life.  


Hinata knew it was an impulse decision. But, so was volleyball. And it was the best thing that happened to him.  


Upon reaching his dorm, Hinata took the stairs slowly. Impulse decision or not, everything drained Hinata physically and emotionally.  


When Hinata reached the top of the stairs to their floor, Hinata’s heart stopped when he saw the familiar figure waiting in front of his door.  


Oikawa gave Hinata a tight smile upon seeing him.  


Guess, Hinata’s not done saying his farewells for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are nearing the end you guys! Only two more chapters and the last one will be in Oikawa's POV. Let's crack open that bastard's head, shall we?
> 
> Thank you so much for the support! Next chapter's an intense one, the mother of all confrontations is finally gonna happen. Tune up next week. (*・∀-)☆


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you ready?

Hinata and Oikawa just stood there staring at each other silently.  


It was nerve-wracking and frankly, Hinata was tempted to run back downstairs, if only Oikawa couldn’t catch him for sure.  


Hinata took a deep breath and decided to talk first. “Hello, Oikawa-san.”  


Oikawa stared at Hinata passively and then smiled sharply. “Oikawa-san… Oikawa-senpai... Grand King. I’m starting to get confused on what you really want me to be to you _Shouyou_.”  


Hinata bristled at Oikawa’s harsh tone. “Why? You’re the one who forced yourself in my life _Tooru_.”  


Oikawa laughed sarcastically. “All I ever wanted was to be your friend, but I guess that’s just too much to ask, right? I even offered to help tutor you , which you totally took for granted by the way…” Oikawa abandoned all pretense of being carefree and glared openly at Hinata. “Where the _hell_ were you these past few days? Were you with that _Kouji_?”  


Hinata clenched his hands in anger. “What the hell does Kouji have to do with anything? You don’t even know him!”  


“You’re right. And I’m starting to think I don’t really know you _Shouyou_.” Oikawa clenched his jaw. “You don’t show up to class, You just cut-off our study sessions without even asking me first! Be honest with me, have you been running around avoiding me all day? If you’re upset with me, just tell me now!”  


Hinata’s body shook with anger and his eyes were beginning to well up with tears of frustration. Hinata thought about running away then and there, but he remembered his conversation with Kenma and decided he wanted to put an end to all of this once and for all.  


“Actually, I’ve been running around saying goodbye all day.” Hinata says.  


Oikawa’s anger dissipated in an instant and looked at Hinata in confusion. “What?”  


Hinata wrapped his arms around himself and drew a nervous breath.  


_I guess this is it._  


“You were right. I’ve been avoiding you these past few days. It’s just that… I couldn’t face you yet…”  


Oikawa’s brows furrowed deeper. “Why? I really did something that upset you, didn’t I?”  


“N-no!” Hinata’s breath hitched. “It’s me… you did nothing wrong… it’s all my fault…”  


“It’s just that I…” Hinata felt like the walls were closing in on him.  


“What?” Oikawa asks.  


Hinata’s been averting his eyes from Oikawa, but decided to look him straight in the eyes just this once.  


“I’ve been madly and crazy in love with you all these years.”  


Oikawa’s eyes slowly widened as he took in Hinata’s words.  


“I looked up so much to you in highschool. I even tried confessing to you, the night of our game against Shiratorizawa. But, when I saw the hate in your eyes, I realized I couldn’t go through with it.”  


Hinata thought it was sad that he’s relieved at seeing the astonished expression on Oikawa’s face, instead of the angry and disgusted one that he was expecting and continued talking.  


“I was able to move on after that, but I guess fate is playing a cruel trick on me when you got assigned as the TA on my first class on the first day of school. I tried to avoid you as much as I can, but you were so persistent that I join the team and when that didn’t work out, you became persistent in being my friend. But, I was thankful you did that because I got to know you. The real you…”  


“I got to know Oikawa Tooru without his mask and I realized how wonderful and kind he is and although it might look like you’ve been manipulating everyone around you, when really you’re just pushing everyone to be the best that they can be, including me. You pushed me to go back and do the thing that made me feel most alive.”  


“I tried to forget you. I really did…” Hinata finally let his tears fall free. “But, I just couldn’t control my feelings and I ended up falling even deeper.”  


“And it’s killing me that you don’t feel the same…” Hinata clutched his chest in pain and tried to control his breathing.  


“B-but, you don’t have to worry about my feelings, Oikawa s-san..” Hinata wiped at his tears furiously. “Because you wouldn’t have to see me anymore..”  


“What are you talking about?” Oikawa whispers.  


“My uncle’s a licensed physical therapist for injured athletes in America. The place that he works at, is one of the best in the country and he’s been offering to come get me for a long time now… I’ve always refused because it’s too far away. But, I’ve decided to accept it now…”  


Hinata never thought he’d see it, but a single tear tracked down Oikawa’s cheek.And it feels like his heart’s breaking all over again.  


“It’ll be good for me Oikawa s-san… I’ll be able to heal properly there. Physically, mentally and emotionally…” And because Hinata was a respectful Kouhai, he bowed as he thanked Oikawa. “Thank you so much for giving me the chance to be your friend.”  


Hinata took a look at Oikawa’s face and saw that it wasn’t just a single tear falling from his cheeks and he chokes a sob.  


“Being your friend was one of the happiest things that has happened to me.”  


Hinata forced himself to smile at Oikawa one last time. “Goodbye, Oikawa Tooru.”  


Even though it was his dorm, Hinata chose to be the one to walk away first.  


At this point, Hinata’s lost count of how many times he’s walked out of people’s lives.  


And just this once, he wishes someone would chase him back.  
~

Hinata doesn’t know how he did it, but somehow he was able to successfully go down the stairs despite his blurry vision with the constant onslaught of tears falling from his eyes.  


He was about a few steps away from his dorm when all of a sudden a body slammed him from behind and a pair of arms snaked around his waist.  


“Don’t leave.”  


Hinata felt something squeeze his heart upon hearing Oikawa’s voice and turned around with shock.  


“What?” Hinata whispers.  


“Don’t leave. Don’t leave me Shou-chan.” Oikawa pleads with tears in his eyes.  


Hinata’s eyes started to sting again. “Why are you doing this? I’ve already made my decision.”  


Oikawa took both of Hinata’s hands in his and squeezed. “Don’t leave. Please… do you want me to beg? Is that it? I’ll do it Shouyou..”  


Oikawa knelt in an instant and pulled Hinata’s body to him. “Please… Everyone leaves me, not you too.”  


Hinata’s hands started to shake and couldn’t quite comprehend what is happening before his eyes.  


Of all the scenarios in his head of how Oikawa’s gonna react to him leaving, Oikawa begging him not to go will have never been in them.  


Hinata tried to pry Oikawa’s arms away, but he wouldn’t budge. “Oikawa-san, don’t do this. Please get up.”  


Oikawa only hugged him tighter and Hinata painfully notes that Oikawa’s tears were starting to soak his shirt.  


“No!” Oikawa looked up at him in anguish and Hinata hates that he was the one that caused it. “Please Shouyou… I can’t live without you again.”  


Hinata’s breath stutters and the taste of salt on his lips tells him, he’s been crying for awhile now. Hinata doesn’t know how Oikawa did it, but he said the one foreboding thought that’s been stopping him from leaving all this time.  


He doesn’t want to live without Oikawa again either.  


Even if Oikawa doesn’t feel the same, maybe they can still make a friendship work. Even if he’s a thousand miles away…  


Hinata sighs as he looks at Oikawa. “You are so unfair.”  


Oikawa sniffs. “Anything to keep you…”  


Hinata wipes Oikawa’s tears with his hands. “Please get up Oikawa-san.”  


Oikawa’s lips wobbles. “No! You’ll just try to run away again!”  


Hinata tried to get out of Oikawa’s hold again, but Oikawa just held him even tighter that Hinata was starting to find it hard to breathe.  


Hinata exhaled deeply and looked Oikawa in the eyes. “Oikawa-san… if you let me go… I promise to never run away from you again.”  


Oikawa hesitated at first, but slowly removed his arms away from Hinata.  


They were both still for a moment and Hinata saw that Oikawa was a second away from breaking. And no matter how many times Oikawa has broken his heart in the past, Hinata still chose to join Oikawa in the ground and embraced him as he started shaking with sobs.  


And if they both looked like idiots hugging on the ground, Hinata didn’t have a care in the world.  
~

After Oikawa finally calmed down, Hinata was finally able to convince him to go home and that no, he’s not going anywhere and that yes, he still loves him.  


Hinata answered that last one, red-faced and stammering and utterly baffled that Oikawa could ask that so shamelessly.  


When Hinata got back in his room, Asato greeted him with a huge grin and waggling eyebrows.  


“So, I saw something that only happens in the movies outside our window today.”  


Hinata covered his burning face with his hands. “Oh my god.”  


Asato chuckles. “So, did you finally do it? Did you confess? What did he say?”  


Hinata sighs at his roommate’s usual interrogation. “Yes, I confessed to him earlier and then when I told him about my plan to leave the country, he freaked out and begged me not to leave.”  


“So, you’re not leaving anymore right?” Asato asks.  


Hinata was silent for moment. “No, I’m still leaving...”  


Asato’s face fell. “What?! Why? Oh come on, dude!”  


Hinata inhaled deeply. “Because I’ve thought about it a lot and even though I only decided to do it at first to be away from Oikawa, I realized that going there will be really good for me.”  


“Oh. That’s good I guess.” Asato rubbed the back of his neck. “For a minute there, I got scared that I may have pushed you in the wrong direction.”  


Hinata smiled warmly at his roommate. “Hey! You’ve never led me wrong. In fact, you’ve been a great help to me this whole time… _Especially_ with reminding me that I do have another option out there and I could not have done all of this without you… So, I just want to say thank you for everything and I hope you know how lucky I am that you were my roommate.”  


Asato blinked an abnormal amount of times and then turned around and sniffed loudly. “Screw you dude! You’re making me break my record of never crying for anyone ever!”  


Hinata laughs at his rommate’s antics. “Why the hell would you do something like that?”  


Asato turned back around with red-rimmed eyes. “You’re the best roommate too dude!”  


“Really? Even with all the drama?” Hinata asks.  


“I think the drama is one of the reasons why you’re the best roommate ever. I’m really gonna miss you dude…” Asato says.  


Hinata smiled widely. “Awwww! I’m gonna miss you too… Now, give me a hug!”  


Hinata chased Asato around their room for a hug that night. Inevitably, the indoorsy computer-genius lost to the energetic short boy with natural athletic reflexes.  
~

Now that he’s no longer avoiding Oikawa, Hinata decided to attend classes the next day. And Oikawa watching his every move totally _didn’t_ affect his concentration at all.  


Hinata knew it was coming too, but his heart still pounded like crazy when Oikawa approached him after the class was dismissed.  


“Hey, Shou-chan.”  


“Hi, Oikawa-san.”  


Oikawa was silent for awhile and kept fidgeting with his shirt. Hinata doesn’t really know what to say either. What exactly do you say to someone after you confessed to them and when you told them you’re leaving the country, they begged you not to leave even though they still technically have a girlfriend?  


After a minute of awkward silence, Oikawa cleared his throat and finally said something. “So, the finals are coming up and I know you’re still behind… so, I was kind of wondering if you’d let me help you study again…”  


Hinata blinked a few a times at Oikawa and tried to contain his shock. He doesn’t know why Oikawa still wanted to help him out, but he really could use the help and this way, maybe they could start repairing their friendship, as awkward as things may be.  


“Okay.” Hinata says.  


Oikawa’s eyes widened and then a smile slowly took over his face. “Great! So, I’ll see you tonight in my office?”  


Hinata was about to agree when he remembered he already promised to eat with Kenma and the others that night. Hinata promised to spend as much time with his friends before he leaves…  


“Um… I’m sorry, Oikawa-san. But, is it okay if we start tomorrow? I kind of already promised to hang out with Kenma tonight…”  


“Oh.” Oikawa looked at the ground in disappointment and Hinata’s heart clenches at the sight.  


“But, you can come too if you want?” Hinata says.  


“Really? Will your friends be okay with me coming?” Oikawa asks.  


“Of course! They’re your friends too, you know…”  


Oikawa’s face lights up and Hinata’s heart clenches for another reason.  


“Okay! I’ll see you for dinner then, Shou-chan.” Oikawa says.  


“See you…”  


Oikawa smiles brightly at him before walking away and Hinata sighs deeply as he watches Oikawa’s retreating back while he stands in the middle of the hallway with a heavy heart.  
~

When Hinata arrived at their usual dining place, Asato and Bokuto were getting on like a house on fire while Kuroo frowns at the side and Kenma was putting 100% of his attention on his PSP.  


“Hey guys!” Hinata says.  


Kuroo had a look of joy in his face when he spotted Hinata. “Shrimpy! Please save me!”  


Hinata laughs. “Why? What’s going on?”  


“Bokuto-san and I were listing off reasons why Kuroo-san is so whipped for Kenma.” Asato says grinning.  


“Yeah dude! Stop denying it! Kenma has you wrapped around his tiny finger!” Bokuto adds.  


“No! Just no! Kenma and I are both equal in this relationship!!!” Kuroo bursts out.  


After a few seconds of awkward silence, Kenma sighed and put down his PSP and looked Kuroo in the eyes. “Kuroo, will you get me a glass of water please?”  


“Yeah, okay.” Kuroo got up right away.  


All of them, except for Kenma immediately bursts out in laughter, although a small smile can be seen on Kenma’s face.  


“By the way, I invited Oikawa to eat with us too.” Hinata says after they finally calmed down.  


“Oh?” Kenma’s eyebrows shot up.  


Meanwhile, Asato and Bokuto were both smirking. “Ohohoho..”  


“Ugh! I’m starting to regret introducing you to each other.” Hinata says.  


“Hey, Bokuto-san! Who do you think is whipped between Hinata and Oikawa?” Asato asks.  


“Hmmn..” Bokuto taps his chin in thought. “I don’t know yet, we’ll see when Oikawa gets here later.”  


Kuroo arrived with Kenma’s water after a moment. “So, what’s going on?”  


“We’re trying to figure out who is more whipped between Hinata and Oikawa!” Bokuto replies.  


Kuroo snorts. “It’s Oikawa, obviously…”  


“What?! How is he whipped for me? The guy has a _girlfriend_!” Hinata sputters.  


“Oh? Does he?” Kuroo’s words made Hinata stop breathing in an instant.  


Before Hinata could ask what Kuroo meant, Oikawa arrived in his bright and shining glory.  


“Hey guys! Sorry I’m late.”  


There was split second where Oikawa and Asato glared at each other before they smiled fakely.  


“Oh, it’s _you_ again!” Oikawa says.  


Asato smirks. “Yes. _Me_ again.”  


Hinata just rolls his eyes at them. “Guys! Be nice to each other. We’re all friends here!”  


Oikawa pouts like a child at him. “But, Shou-chan!”  


“ _See_ , I told you.” Kuroo says grinning to Asato and Bokuto.  


“Oh, how ironic..” Asato smirks while looking at Hinata and Oikawa.  


Bokuto guffaws. “Oh man! You’re totally right Kuroo!”  


“Huh? What are you guys talking about?” Oikawa asks.  


Bokuto wipes the tears from his eyes from too much laughing. “It’s nothing man!” Bokuto suddenly looked fondly at Hinata. “It’s always fun when you’re here Hinata! We’re really gonna miss you when you leave!”  


The mood at the table suddenly dropped and Oikawa looked at Hinata with a betrayed expression.  


“What is he talking about Shou-chan? I thought you’re not leaving anymore?” Oikawa looks at Hinata with an intense gaze.  


Hinata looks at Oikawa with wide eyes and a racing heart. “Oikawa-san…”  


Oikawa looked shocked for a moment and then gathered his things. “Excuse me…”  


Oikawa walked briskly away from them and Hinata feels like someone dumped cold water on him.  


“Shit.” Hinata stood up after a few seconds and ran after Oikawa.  


Good thing, Oikawa was only a few steps away when Hinata got outside the restaurant. “Oikawa-san!”  


Oikawa continued walking faster and Hinata ran after him and grabbed his elbow. Hinata gasped when he saw tears forming in Oikawa’s eyes.  


“I’m sorry if you misunderstood Oikawa-san… But, it’s not like I’m not coming back anyway.”  


Oikawa wipes his face angrily. “So, apparently my begging didn’t work anyway, huh?”  


Hinata exhales harshly. “Why does it matter so much to you? You have a girlfriend anyway!”  


Oikawa was clenching his hands while looking at the ground. “No, I don’t…”  


“What?” Hinata feels like he’s getting a headache.  


Oikawa looked Hinata straight in the eyes. “I broke up with her yesterday… It wasn’t fair for her when I clearly have feelings for someone else.”  


“Oh.” Hinata feels like a fog lifted from his mind.  


“And yes, it’s obviously you. Everyone has clearly noticed but _you_.” Oikawa adds in.  


“Oh.” Hinata feels like he forgot all the other words.  


Oikawa sighs at Hinata’s underwhelming response. “I only accepted her confession anyway because I thought you were gonna get together with your friend, Kouji.”  


At that, Hinata bursts out laughing. “Oh my god! We are both so stupid!”  


“Yeah, I guess..” Oikawa rubbed the back of his neck while blushing.  


Hinata looks fondly at Oikawa. To think this could all have been avoided if he followed Iwaizumi’s advice. “I should have told you I loved you from the start.”  


Oikawa turned sharply at Hinata, mouth opened slighty and his blush reaching his neck.  


Oikawa suddenly launched himself at Hinata and pulled him tight for an embrace. “You promise you’re coming back, okay?”  


Hinata hugged Oikawa back just as tightly. “Of course! And it’s easy to talk to people even when they’re far away from each these days anyway.”  


“So this means you’re totally giving me your skype, right?” Oikawa asks.  


Hinata chuckles. “Of course!”  


“And you’re gonna be online all the time, right?”  


Hinata sighs. “Oikawa…”  


“But, Shou-chan! What if you find someone more prettier than me there?”  


Hinata laughs really hard and pulls away from Oikawa to look him straight in the eyes. “No one is prettier than you in my eyes…”  


Oikawa immediately turned red. “Don’t keep saying such things Shou-chan! Or I really won’t let you leave!”  


Hinata shakes his head at Oikawa and offers his hand. “Come on, let’s go back inside and eat.”  


When Oikawa took his hand, Hinata feels light in his chest for the first time in a long while.  
~

Things took surprisingly well after that. Hinata kept studying with Oikawa for the finals and Oikawa came along to have dinner with Kenma and the others as well.  


It was almost like that time when they first became friends, except they aren’t really just friends anymore and they aren’t really together either.  


What kind of friend would latch onto you like an octopus while you’re studying anyway? Hinata’s been finding it hard to concentrate for the past hour because it seemed like Oikawa has no plans of removing himself from Hinata’s body anytime soon.  


They are in Oikawa’s apartment though, so Hinata thinks Oikawa’s being more liberal than usual.  


When Hinata looked at the time again and saw that he’s been staring at the same question for 10 minutes, he realized he needed some distance from Oikawa already.  


“Oikawa-san… can you please sit in another chair? I’m finding it hard to concentrate.”  


“Oh? Am I _that_ distracting, Shou-chan?” Oikawa smirks.  


Hinata sighs. “Yes, you are _really_ distracting. And if only finals aren’t this week, I’d totally let you hug me all you want, okay?”  


Oikawa rested his chin on Hinata’s shoulder. “Hmmn… but, after finals you’re already leaving after two weeks though…”  


Hinata poked Oikawa’s cheek. “And I told you my uncle said, it might just take me a year right? Maybe even less, if my knee improves faster.”  


Oikawa pouts. “It’s still too long Shou-chan.”  


Hinata sighs again. “Let’s just focus on the finals for now, okay?”  


“Speaking of finals… you know this means I won’t be your TA anymore right?” Oikawa says with a gleam in his eyes.  


“Um...yes?” Hinata replies.  


“This means we can officially be boyfriends publicly Shou-chan!” Oikawa suddenly declares.  


Hinata’s face heated up right away. “W-what?”  


“Oh yes! And you really have to drop the _san_ this time or I swear to god, I will propose to you in public!”  


“Wha- W-why would you do that?! We’re too young to get married Oikawa-san- I mean Oikawa- Argh!!! I don’t know what to call you anymore!”  


Oikawa seems to find Hinata’s misery funny and laughed really hard.  


Hinata covered his burning face with his hands and then suddenly puts his face closer to Oikawa and looks deeply in his eyes. “Remember the night I confessed to you and you asked me what I really wanted you to be in my life?”  


Pink suddenly dusted Oikawa’s cheeks. “Yeah…”  


“I want you to be Tooru. Just Tooru.” Hinata smiled brightly. “Grand King was my Rival, Oikawa-san was my TA, Oikawa-senpai was my teammate and Tooru… is the love of my life.”  


Oikawa’s eyes slowly widened and there was an intense look in them.  


“I love you.”  


Hinata looked stunned at Oikawa’s confession and his eyes slowly filled with tears of unbridled joy.  


“What?” Hinata whispers.  


Oikawa smiled widely at him. “Why do you look so surprised Shou-chan? I think I fell in love with you a long time ago, it just took me awhile to realize.”  


“You’re such a jerk Tooru! How the hell can I concentrate now?” Hinata sniffs.  


Oikawa just laughs at him.  


“I love you too, you jerk!” Hinata says.  


“Oh?” Oikawa smirks and slowly closes the distance between their faces.  


“Yeah! I’m the unluckiest boy alive!” Hinata’s eyes are drawn to Oikawa’s lips.  


“Hmmn… I know just the trick to make you think it’s the opposite.”  


Hinata closed his eyes the moment their lips met and felt the warmest and softest of touch.  


Oikawa pulled away after a few seconds and grinned. “So? Changed your mind yet?”  


“Not yet! I might need a little more convincing!” Hinata beams.  


Oikawa chuckles and gladly complied with Hinata’s demands again and again and again.  


Two years ago, Hinata never thought he’d be in this state. But, now, that Oikawa is with him. He feels like they can do anything.  


On a day like no other, Hinata Shouyou finally felt safe and happy and full of love.  


He finally beat all the odds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand that it's for Hinata's POV you guys! I honestly had a lot of fun writing him.
> 
> It took a long while, but these dorks finally got their act together and ended all our suffering! And don't worry, their journey doesn't end here yet, I'll be releasing the final chapter next week in Oikawa's POV. 
> 
> And yeah.. I totally dropped a YOI reference there. Nyahahaha!
> 
> Thank you so much for all the kudos and the wonderful comments and for continuing to keep up with this fic.   
> You guys rock!!! (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter you guys!!! If the previous chapter was a monster, then this one is a titan. (Vague reference to SNK because I'm freaking addicted to it.)
> 
> It's 10k words and it was supposed to be shorter, but we all know how Oikawa loves to talk, right? Haha.
> 
> Fair warning that Oikawa's gonna be an asshole in the first paragraphs, but let's just forgive the guy because we all know he's really an angsty boy who hides it behind fake smiles and well made-up hair and doesn't know how to deal with his feelings.
> 
> Oikawa's POV starts on the night of the game between Karasuno and Shiratorizawa and will have a lot of time skips.
> 
> Hope u guys enjoy!!!

All his life, Oikawa Tooru was praised by everyone around him.  


Whether it’s about his looks, his grades or his athletic abilities, everyone says good things.  


Until he met Hinata Shouyou and everyone suddenly started calling him an idiot.  


Oikawa used to think of Hinata as a bug that he needs to crush. Well, either that or wallow in despair that once again Kageyama has something that he desperately wanted. So, crush the bug it is.  


So, of course Oikawa gets the shocking of a lifetime on the night of the game between Karasuno and Shiratorizawa when Hinata started shouting his name and asked to talked to him just when he and Iwaizumi were about to cross the road.  


It didn’t help that Iwaizumi left him alone with Hinata to give them “privacy”.  


Oikawa looked longingly at Iwaizumi’s back. Jealous that he gets to leave first. He turned to look back at Hinata with irritation and regretted it immediately.  


There’s a storm in Hinata’s eyes and he was looking at Oikawa like he was the one causing it.  


Oikawa wanted to claw his eyes out.  


He wanted to shake Hinata until he answered all the questions that has kept him up at night.  


_Why are you looking at me with those eyes?_  


_Why are you making me feel like this?_  


_Stop making me want you…_  


It seemed like Hinata was taking forever, so Oikawa decided to talk first. “What do you want? Come to gloat?”  


“N-no! I just… Um…”  


Oikawa knew then, that this “talk” was going to be pointless, so he started replying absently to Hinata, and outwardly showed how much he wants the conversation to be over already.  


He only replied vehemently when Hinata asked him for tips for nationals. But, otherwise Oikawa kept silently fuming the entire time.  


In the end, Hinata got the message and Oikawa jumped a little when he suddenly bowed and said some things that made Oikawa’s chest clench.  


“I know you don’t want to hear this. But, I just want to say that playing against you has taught me a lot and I just want to thank you for everything.”  


Before Oikawa could say a word, Hinata ran away so fast. All Oikawa could do was watch him slowly disappear from a distance.  


Oikawa was surprised when Iwaizumi was still there at the station waiting for him.  


“What happened? Where’s Hinata?” Iwaizumi asks.  


“Why would he be with _me_? He went back to his team obviously.” Oikawa replies sharply.  


Iwaizumi frowned. “What did he say?”  


“He barely said anything Iwa-chan.”  


Iwaizumi’s frown got deeper. “You were mean to him, weren’t you?”  


Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi incredulously. “So what if I was? He’s the _enemy_ , Iwa-chan.”  


Iwaizumi glared at Oikawa. He’s done so a lot in his life, given how much Oikawa’s been annoying him, but this time he was looking at Oikawa with contempt.  


“You’re an idiot.”  


Oikawa was speechless as Iwaizumi got on the trains without him and desperately blinked back tears of frustration, as he convinces himself that he doesn’t regret anything.  
~

Oikawa’s life went on and decided to put that incident on the back of his mind. He chose a university with no Ushijima in it, although Iwaizumi choosing to go at another school left a gaping hole in his life.  


Although he was able to adapt with his new team anyway and surprisingly found friends in Bokuto and Kuroo who likes to make fun of every stupid little thing that he does. A lot like his friends in High school really.  


Oikawa was successful in preventing himself from ever thinking of Hinata again, until he saw a short player in the qualifiers who can battle on his own at the top of the net and his first thought was.  


_Chibi-chan can jump higher._  


Oikawa hated how he thought of Hinata right away and reminded himself that Hinata’s not the only short player in volleyball out there.  


It would take months before Oikawa thought of _him_ again when he saw his coach lining up files for possible recruits at his table.  


“Starting to recruit again coach?” Oikawa asks.  


“Yep. It’s that time of the year again.” Coach Maeda replies.  


Oikawa ran a fleeting glance at the faces of recruits and thought how they couldn’t compare to Hinata. “You know Coach, there’s this player that I played against in Miyagi… He’s still in his second year though. But, people have started to call him as the future little giant of volleyball and I seriously think that we should recruit him someday.”  


_What the fuck?! Why did I say that?!_  


Oikawa’s heart pounded like crazy and berates himself for what he just said.  


Coach Maeda didn’t seem to think anything strange with what Oikawa just said and was thinking deeply. “I’ll keep an eye out for him at Nationals then, Oikawa-kun.”  


Oikawa’s eyes widened comically. “That was just a silly thought Coach. Don’t take me seriously!”  


Coach Maeda laughs. “Nonsense! I trust your judgment Oikawa-kun.”  


Oikawa can only smile nervously and silently prays that Kuroo never finds out about this. His boyfriend is Hinata’s bestfriend after all.  


And how exactly is he going to explain that he just said a bunch of words that is the complete opposite of how he’s been treating Hinata this whole time.  
~

When Bokuto and Kuroo said they’re taking him to watch a game, he didn’t think they were going to watch the _High School Spring Nationals tournament_ with Karasuno playing up ahead.  


Not to mention Kenma was there and was piercing Oikawa with his cat-like eyes like he wanted to open up Oikawa and uncover all of his secrets then and there.  


“Hi Ken-chan!” Oikawa says in a cheerfully fake tone.  


Kenma’s eyebrows rose up an inch. “Hi.”  


“So, you guys came to watch your destined rivals?” Oikawa asks.  


Kenma’s eyes focused on him even deeper and Oikawa’s heart started to race. “We are, but mostly because I promised _Shouyou_ I would watch.”  


Oikawa clenched his fist and smiled cheerfully at Kenma, all the while trying not to think about how his blood boiled that Kenma just gets to use Hinata’s first name like that.  


When the players started to get on the court to warm up and Hinata’s orange flaming hair stood out among the bunch, Oikawa really couldn’t help the way his eyes followed Hinata.  


Oikawa knew Kenma was watching him closely, but he just couldn’t help himself and stared at Hinata all he wants, like he was trying to fill himself from a long period of starvation.  


Hinata looked fine, but he didn’t look happy and he looked like he matured a lot in just a year and Oikawa knew he got even more powerful with the way he slammed down the toss that Kageyama gave him.  


Hinata’s teammates ruffled his hair afterwards and Hinata smiled for a bit, but it faded instantly and Oikawa felt with a sick dread that it was somehow his fault.  


Oikawa stood up suddenly. “Sorry guys, but I just remembered I had to do something, so I’m gonna leave.”  


“Where are you going Oikawa?” Kuroo asks.  


“I just have something important to do.” Oikawa lies.  


Kuroo was grinning, but his eyebrows were furrowed. “Oh come on, man! Don’t be an idiot!”  


There’s _that_ word again and Oikawa can’t help but realize how true it is over time. “I’ll see you on Monday.”  


Oikawa left immediately and ignored the way Kuroo and Kenma’s eyes followed him. When he got outside, he went behind the back of the stadium where he knows not a lot people went and leaned his body against the wall and closed his eyes as he repeated the words that prevented him from having a panic attack at the station that night.  


_I don’t regret it. I don’t regret it. I don’t regret it._  
~

When Fujimoto-sensei approached him if he was interested in the position of TA for Intro to Statistics next school year, Oikawa didn’t really think much about it and accepted it, knowing it would look good for his CV and he really could use the extra money.  


So when the new school year started, Oikawa went into that classroom thinking cheerfully that he’s about to gain a new experience and a new set of fans as well.  


If only he knew that those things aren’t the only things he would gain, as he familiarized his students faces and his eyes landed on the trembling form of Hinata Shouyou who looked like this is last place he wanted to be.  


A new chance.  


That was what Oikawa gained as his eyes locked with Hinata who doesn’t seem too happy seeing him again.  


With the way his heart was beating all too fast in his chest, Oikawa felt his knees go weak. He could barely take his eyes off of Hinata who looked away after a moment to close his eyes and dug his nails on his arm. Probably to wake himself up in the nightmare that he and Oikawa are in the same school.  


When Hinata opened his eyes again and looked at the direction of Oikawa, his face looked haunted and never looked back at Oikawa again. Not even once.  


It stung. But, Oikawa knew he deserved it and vowed to himself that he’s not gonna waste this chance, no matter what the cost.  
~

Hinata was the first one out of the classroom as soon as the bell rung and Oikawa knew he has no chance of catching one of the fastest players in the league.  


Oikawa decided to let it go and told himself he has the next two years of being in the same school with Hinata anyway.  


There was no cause for panic.  


Until Oikawa saw the empty seat of Hinata the next time the class met and Oikawa felt the cold fear seeping in his veins.  


After the class was dismissed, Oikawa decided to look for Hinata. But, he couldn’t seem to find him and barely stopped himself from asking Kuroo and Kenma if they knew where Hinata was.  


Oikawa looked at the doors to the library and thought how this was the last place that he would find Hinata, but decided to try it anyway and lo and behold, there Hinata was putting all of his attention on what looks to be a list of class schedules and he knew immediately what Hinata was gonna use it for.  


Oikawa should have known how unpredictable Hinata Shouyou was from the start.  


He stared at Hinata for a moment and tried to quell his panic.  


_He’s still here. I haven’t wasted my chance yet._  


When he finally had his fill of looking at Hinata, he got the courage to start a conversation with Hinata after two years of no word from each other.  


“Is this seat taken?”  


Hinata looked up at him in fear and at the end of that intense conversation, Oikawa finds out a devastating information.  
~

While he was was watching Hinata walk away from him once again, it slowly dawned on Oikawa how lonely his life’s been these past two years when Hinata wasn’t in it.  


_I won’t let you slip away again…_  


Oikawa thought to himself as he devised a series of plans to keep the orange-haired boy in his life.  


And it was easy at first. A few compliments here and there and he was able to convince Arima-san to not let Hinata transfer out of his class.  


Although feeling immense pleasure in Hinata calling him _Senpai_ was a new thing for him. It reminded him of the times when he was imagining that Hinata went to Aoba Johsai instead and everything in his life was so much better.  


Hinata couldn’t avoid him outside of class either because they had the same circle of friends. He just had to tag along with Kuroo and voila, he and Hinata were eating dinner together.  


Oikawa knows for a fact that first year dorms don’t have kitchens, so he decided to start eating in the cafeteria all the time, on the off-chance he would catch Hinata.  


And catch him he did and Oikawa didn’t waste any time plopping down on the table of Hinata and convinced him to play on their team.  


Because if Hinata played on their team, he’d finally find out the reason why it bugged him so much everytime he sees Hinata on the other side of the court.  


And if Hinata was on the team, he and Oikawa would get to spend a lot of time together.  


Oikawa couldn’t explain why he liked that thought so much, but he just knows that he wants Hinata beside him all the time.  


Oikawa remembers feeling the same thing during a match in High school and Iwaizumi called him out for staring daggers at Hinata.  


_“I thought it was Kageyama you hated?” Iwaizumi asks._  


_“Yeah. But, something about Chibi-chan irritates me so much. Makes me think that if I glare at him enough, he’d finally look at me.” Oikawa said while glaring at Hinata who was having fun with his teammates._  


_Iwaizumi stared at him incredulously. “Wow.”_  


_“What?” Oikawa asks frowning._  


_Iwaizumi laughs. “You know that thing boys do? Pulling out the girl’s pigtails so they’d give their attention to them?”_  


_“Yeah? What does that have to do with me and Chibi-chan?”_  


_Iwaizumi pinched the bridge of his nose. “You are such a dumbass.”_  


_“No I’m not! Iwa-chan mean!”_  


Up to this day, Oikawa didn’t really get what Iwaizumi meant, but now that Hinata’s here, he’s never giving up until Hinata finally joins the team and they could both learn to love volleyball again.  
~

Teasing Hinata was fun.  


So ridiculously fun, Oikawa kept doing it all the time. Smirking everytime he catches Hinata looking at him and whispering too close at Hinata’s ear and enjoying how much the orange-haired boy would blush afterwards.  


Being the one teased however…  


Oikawa just wanted to see Hinata’s face to turn red once again when he brought their faces close together. _A little too close_ , some people would say but he’s trying to get a rise out of Hinata after all.  


For some reason, Hinata kept looking at his lips and Oikawa was compelled to focus his eyes at Hinata’s lips as well.  


_I wonder what he tastes like…_ Oikawa’s last thought before he slowly dipped his head down and was promptly pushed to the floor by Hinata when Kuroo made an untimely appearance.  


Oikawa was left gaping while seating on the floor and Hinata just up and left him.  


_What the fuck was that? Was I just about to ki-_  


Oikawa slapped his face with both of hands and ended that thought. Meanwhile, Kuroo was smirking down at him. “Finally starting to make a move?”  


“Huh?!!!”  
~

Jealousy was not an unfamiliar emotion for Oikawa.  


He’s been feeling it all his life everytime a genius beats him at something he worked so hard to get. And yet, looking at the joined hands of Hinata and some other guy, Oikawa clenched his hands in anger as he felt the unpleasant emotion once again.  


_Chibi-chan should be holding MY hand._ Oikawa thought for a second and stopping himself abruptly before he falls for another endless loop of overthinking his actions towards Hinata.  


The guy was wearing glasses and was assessing Oikawa carefully with calculative eyes and looked like he was thinking a hundred different things at once.  


_Great, another genius._ Oikawa hated the guy already.  


“Who is this? Aren’t you gonna introduce me Chibi-chan?” Oikawa asks after a minute of awkward silence.  


Hinata’s face was very pale and couldn’t seem to answer him when everything became so much worse and Oikawa found out what it was like to want to murder someone in a hundred different ways when glasses guy brought Hinata’s hand to his lips and introduced himself as Hinata’s boyfriend.  


Oikawa’s blood boiled, but tried to calm himself immediately. It’s stupid to commit murder in a public place with hundreds of witnesses after all.  


Asato, glasses guy’s name who thinks he can just touch Hinata however he wants made another spectacle that humiliated him and Hinata and Oikawa thought then there that he didn’t care if they were in a public place. He’s gonna kill this guy.  


Until Asato admiited that he was just kidding about being Hinata’s boyfriend and Oikawa finally stopped contemplating murder and left before he changed his mind.  
~

Hinata was avoiding him.  


He never looked at Oikawa’s direction during classes. Not even just a turn of a head. He couldn’t find him in the cafeteria anymore and he never came to dinner with Kenma and the others.  


Oikawa even tried the library, but he wasn’t there either.  


Needless to say, Oikawa was in a very bad mood for the past few days and everyone around him has noticed and has taken to slightly avoid him as well.  


His teammates could tell with the way his serves seem extra powerful and nobody even tries to receive it anymore lest their arms get ripped off and everytime they can’t hit his toss, they feel a chill up their spine when Oikawa asks them what was wrong with that toss with a sharp smile.  


“Was it too low? Too high? Tell me exactly what you want. Don’t even try to avoid me.”  


The entire volleyball club knows the questions aren’t really directed at them and they were all dying to know who was making Oikawa act like this, except for Kuroo who knows a certain someone being absent from their dinners.  


It seems the captain finally had enough and took Oikawa out for ice cream to talk about what’s making him act strange. When they got out of the ice cream shop and Oikawa saw Hinata, that’s when all hell breaks loose.  


Oikawa can only gape at Hinata’s slowly fading figure before he runs after him. Fastest player in the league or not, Oikawa’s done with Hinata avoiding him.  


When Oikawa finally caught him, Oikawa knew exactly what to lure competitive idiots like Hinata to his grasp.  


A game.  


And when Hinata agreed, Oikawa knew the fire in Hinata’s eyes reflects his own and he’s never felt more alive.  
~

On the day of the game, Hinata came in late and disheveled and Oikawa happily pointed out that he was wearing his shirt inside out.  


It backfired quickly on Oikawa when Hinata took his shirt off in front of him and for some reason was taking too long in putting it back on.  


Oikawa couldn’t help the way his eyes roamed Hinata’s body who surprisingly kept his athletic body despite not training for months and he has the fairest skin that Oikawa has seen on any boy.  


His face heated up right away and although he was aware that his mouth is slightly open, Oikawa can’t seem to get ahold of himself.  


“Are you okay Grand King? Why are you so red?” Hinata’s question broke Oikawa out of his trance which he can only be thankful because he was a second away from having a nosebleed.  


Oikawa coughed in his hand and complained about the hot the weather before distancing himself from Hinata.  
~

If Oikawa knew Coach Maeda was gonna out him like that, he never would have made those suggestions to recruit Hinata years ago.  


Oikawa knew Hinata was trying to catch his gaze, but he can’t look him in the eyes at the moment. How exactly would he explain that he’s been subtly trying to bring Hinata back into his life all this time?  


_I’m sorry I couldn’t help myself, but I think my happiness is tied to your presence in my life?_ Yeah, right. Oikawa would kiss Ushijima first before that happens.  


As soon as Coach Maeda dismissed them, Oikawa went back to his teammates right away and focused on winning the game. A lot is at stake after all.  


Oikawa hasn’t really thought about what would happen if he loses. Losing the game would mean losing Hinata. Oikawa thinks he can’t bear to live like that again.  


Before the game started, Oikawa didn’t really warn his teammates about Hinata’s amazing quick. He wanted Hinata to feel the rush of being able to surprise his opponents again. Maybe he’d even play volleyball willingly again after this. Oikawa can only hope and pray.  
~

When Oikawa’s team won the match and Hinata just sat still staring lifelessly on the court, cold fear gripped Oikawa’s chest like never before.  


_What if he hated me after this?_  


Oikawa never really thought of the consequences before and only thought about bringing Hinata to the volleyball team.  


Oikawa got under the net and tried to call out to Hinata. Although he knows it won’t be much help when Hinata won’t even respond to his bestfriend.  


“Chibi-chan?” Hinata surprisingly looked up upon hearing his voice and his face must have looked so stricken for Hinata’s eyes to widen.  


Hinata slowly stood up and held out his hand. “Good game, Grand King.”  


Oikawa felt like he could cry with relief and shook his Hinata’s hand. “You too, Chibi-chan.”  


And then Hinata smiled really bright and Oikawa felt like he was blinded for a moment and Hinata said the words that he’s wanted to hear all these years ever since he met Hinata.  


“I guess I’ll see you on practice on Monday, _Senpai_.”  


Oikawa felt like his heart was being squeezed and it was like the missing piece finally slotted itself into Oikawa’s life and now he feels finally complete.  
~

It seems Hinata still finds it awkward being teammates with him, so Oikawa did everything he could do to make it easy for Hinata to adapt.  


This was the nicest he’s ever been to another human being and if Iwaizumi was there, he’d probably think the real Oikawa was abducted by aliens and was replaced by a look alike.  


It didn’t seem to work though.  


Hinata was avoiding him. Again.  


Oikawa felt like he was drowning in sadness everytime he sees Hinata with Kimura or Bokuto or any other player in the team but him. He thought letting Hinata into the team would bring them closer together, but it seems he was wrong.  


Maybe Hinata just didn’t want to be around _him_ after all.  


Oikawa decided to confront Hinata once and for all and found his opportunity before the practice match when everyone else left and they were finally alone together.  


Oikawa didn’t hold back and told Hinata exactly how he felt. Even though he couldn’t completely understand how he felt towards Hinata.  


They seemed to have reached something of an agreement and Oikawa thought they just might be okay after this.  
~

Except he was wrong.  


He was so so wrong and Oikawa felt the illusion of a perfect life crumble before his eyes when he saw Hinata go down and cried in pain.  


The final nail to the coffin was when Kageyama pushed him away from Hinata. “Stay away from him! You’ve done enough!”  


_You’ve done enough. You’ve done enough. You’ve done enough._  


Oikawa felt his entire body shake and tears were starting to form in his eyes. And when he looked at Hinata’s face and Hinata kept saying sorry, Oikawa felt his heart break in a thousand pieces.  


When the ambulance that took Hinata finally left, that’s when Oikawa completely broke down. He fell to his knees and sobbed uncontrollably. “It’s all my fault! I’m so stupid! Stupid! Stupid Stupid!”  


“Oikawa, stop! It was an accident!” Yanagida says.  


“Yes it is! I forced him to play in this team!” Oikawa argues.  


“You didn’t know Oikawa!” Kuroo says.  


“No! No! No! It’s all my fault! I did this to him! I did this-“  


Oikawa was cut-off when Takamatsu picked him up by grabbing his shirt and pinned him to wall. “Stop it! How do you think Hinata will feel if he sees you like this? We all need to be strong for him now!”  


That finally shut up Oikawa and started having hiccups. “Okay…”  


“It’s gonna be okay Oikawa. Let’s just pray for Hinata now.” Yanagida rubs his back.  


When his other teammates patted him on the head and said words of comfort, Oikawa felt the silent tears fall down his face for being glad to have this family.  
~

Oikawa felt devastated when Hinata finally told him everything. He doesn’t know how Hinata did it, but he knows he’ll go crazy if he can’t play volleyball anymore.  


Oikawa thinks Hinata is the bravest person he knows now. Even though he knows Hinata’s always been brave for beating all the other taller players including him.  


He always thought he’d finally figure out his feelings for Hinata when they’re finally on the same side of the court. He never thought he’d figure it out when Hinata’s off of it.  


Sweet and beautiful Hinata that lights up the whole room with just a smile. The bravest short spiker Oikawa knows that irritates all his enemies, but challenges them to improve on themselves too. Hinata who has the kind soul that still looks at Oikawa with no contempt despite everything he did.  


He likes Hinata.  


He likes Hinata just a little bit more than everything else. Maybe more than he likes Iwaizumi. Maybe more than he likes winning.  


It was a terrifying thought. But, now that he knows what this feelings really are, he’s gonna try to make up for all the terrible things he did to Hinata and hope that someday he can win his heart too.  
~

Oikawa started out simple. He wanted to be friends with Hinata first.  


He wanted to know every little thing about Hinata. What makes him laugh, what makes him cry and hopefully someday Oikawa will find out what will make Hinata fall in love with him too.  


Eventually, Oikawa will find out that Iwaizumi was the one who will alter the paradigm of their relationship. He doesn’t know what happened in the mere minutes that he went to the bathroom, but when he came back, Hinata was looking at him differently. Almost like he could see right through his feelings now and wasn’t shying back to himself and was meeting Oikawa’s gaze head on instead.  


It was bothering him so much he called Iwaizumi that night and asked what he exactly did he say to Hinata, that he was suddenly acting different.  


_“Nothing! I just told him he shouldn’t put up with your crap.”_  


“What?! Iwa-chan!!! What if he doesn’t want to be friends with me anymore, after what you said?”  


_“Don’t worry, Hinata’s not like that. And you’re tutoring him now apparently? I can see you’re finally abusing your power in good use.”_  


“What?! What does that mean?!”  


Iwaizumi was laughing loudly in the background. _“Nothing. Just keep doing what you’re doing and remember not to do anything stupid.”_  


“Well, I hope so. Too bad you’re not here to punch me when I do something stupid though.”  


_“You’ll get it right, Oikawa.”_  


“Thank you, Iwa-chan. Goodnight!”  


Oikawa breathed a sigh of relief after he hanged up the phone. He should just stop worrying and revel in how good things are between him and Hinata lately.  
~

Oikawa was so happy. He and Hinata were practically joined at the hip these days and already going on their second _sort-of_ a date. At this point, he’s just waiting for the perfect timing to ask Hinata to go on a real one.  


He was right.  


Having Hinata in his life made everything so much better. In such a short time it was like Hinata knew so much about him already too. The alien phone stand just says it all. Oikawa plans to put it in his nightstand, so he can look at it before he goes to sleep and when he wakes up in the morning, it’ll be the first thing he sees.  


But, like all good things in Oikawa’s life, the idea of being with Hinata crashed and burned so easily.  


Oikawa was unsettled in seeing how close Hinata was with his childhood friend at first, but knew he was just being a possessive jerk at the time.  


But, when he heard Hinata’s friend ask if this _Kouji_ guy and him were finally gonna give it a try, that’s when Oikawa woke up from the harsh reality.  


Oikawa thought that he had a chance with Hinata all this time, but it was just in his imagination after all.  


Good thing, he learned how to act years ago. The fake smiles and the poker face saved him from looks of pity and this time he used it to hide how much it’s breaking him inside that he can’t have Hinata no matter what he does.  


Oikawa started to avoid Hinata after that. Funny how he’s been forcing himself on Hinata all this time, but right now seeing the shorter boy is just too painful for him.  


He felt guilty everytime he lies to get away from Hinata, but it’s only just temporary anyway. He still wants Hinata in his life, he just needs to get his act together and move on.  


So, when a very pretty girl who looked just like all his girlfriends in the past approached him after volleyball practice, Oikawa didn’t think twice about it and accepted her confession.  


After all, if Hinata already has someone, Oikawa can just try to make it work with someone else.  
~

The look of hurt on Hinata’s face when Oikawa introduced him to his girlfriend was the last thing Oikawa expected to see on the shorter boy’s face.  


Next thing he knows Hinata’s bowing while basically telling him that he’s ending their study sessions and disappeared in a flash.  


Maybe that’s all Hinata’s gonna be in his life. A fleeting presence. Something he can hold on to for a short while, but will ultimately slip from his fingers.  


Oikawa thought he would feel better after he told Hinata that he has a girlfriend, but now he just feels empty.  


When his girlfriend asked if he was okay, Oikawa put on his fakest smile and said that everything’s alright.  
~

Kuroo’s jabs and snarky comments were more hurtful than usual and it was all directed at Oikawa. Oikawa being in a sullen mood already only took it as a challenge and gave back everything Kuroo threw at him. Needless to say, the tension on their practice that afternoon was at an all time high.  


The mood dropped even further when Oikawa’s girlfriend came to visit.  


“Who’s that Oikawa? Introduce us!” Bokuto asks cheerfully.  


“Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Ami!” Oikawa announces.  


“Hello everyone! Thank you for letting me watch your practice.” Oikawa’s girlfriend says.  


Oikawa feels like he’s missing something because his entire team all looked shocked at this information except for Kuroo, who had nothing to say for once in his life and was just glaring at Oikawa.  


“But, I thought you and Hina-“ Bokuto starts to say, but was cut-off by Kuroo.  


“Don’t bother Bo, come on!” Kuroo says as he drags a very confused Bokuto with him.  


Oikawa knows a fake smile when he sees one and that’s exactly what’s on Yanagida’s face when he addressed his girlfriend. “You’re welcome here all the time Ami-san. Come on guys, let’s get back to practice.”  


The rest of his teammates followed their captain some with confused and some with angry looks on their faces.  


His girlfriend went to sit at the bleachers and it was just him and Kimura left who was openly glaring at him. Sweet and gentle Kimura who was brave enough to tell Oikawa exactly what he thought of him that afternoon.  


“I always thought you were the smartest person I know Oikawa-san, but I guess I was wrong.” Kimura left afterwards and Oikawa was left standing there alone feeling like something heavy was sitting on his chest.  


Oikawa went home straight after practice and told his girlfriend he couldn’t make it to their date because he wasn’t feeling well. And he wasn’t even lying because he’s been trying to hold himself off from breaking down all afternoon.  


For some reason, Oikawa knows his team reacted like that because of Hinata. Everything always points back to _him_. And he can’t even ask him about it because Hinata was out of town because it was his sister’s birthday.  


Oikawa dropped to his knees as soon as he closed his apartment door and called Iwaizumi.  


_“Shittykawa, what’s up?”_  


“Iwa-chan…”  


_“What? Hello? Are you still there?”_ Oikawa was silent for a second and kept trying to control his breathing and couldn’t help the burning tears flowing from his eyes.  


“I did something stupid…”  


_“…Why? What did you do?”_  


“I… I got a girlfriend…”  


_“….”_  


“Hello? Iwa-chan?”  


“Iwa-chan, please say something…” Oikawa sniffs.  


_“What about Hinata?”_  


Oikawa clutches his chest upon hearing Hinata’s name. “He... he likes someone else.”  


_“What? Are you sure? Did he tell you that?”_  


“No…”  


_“….”_  


“Iwa-chan?”  


_“Then how do you know he likes someone else?”_  


Oikawa breathed harshly. “I… he… his friend said that maybe Shou-chan and their other friend will probably gonna give dating a try…”  


_“…Hinata’s friend said this? Not Hinata himself?”_  


Oikawa’s breathing was stuttering. “No… he just looked confused, but he said that they have plans to roam around Tokyo for the break, so I though that maybe it meant Shou-chan liked him back, so I thought I’d just get a girlfriend to get over him, but everyone around me thinks that what I did was stupid and it’s all because of Hinata and I can’t even ask him about it because he’s not in Tokyo right now and I just feel like everything’s falling apart and I just… I can’t breathe Iwa-chan…”  


_“Okay… just hold on the phone alright? I’m coming over… Everything’s gonna be alright. Okay?”_  


“Okay… please hurry Iwa-chan…”  


Oikawa calmed down a bit upon hearing his bestfriend’s coming over and hope it will be enough to make him think he’s not so sad and alone.  
~

Oikawa cried in his bestfriend’s arms that night and finally told him everything. Iwaizumi stayed for the night as well and Oikawa was glad that they could still bond just like they used to do.  


Before Iwaizumi went back to his apartment the next day, he told Oikawa that he should think more about his choices next time in order to avoid hurting everyone around him, including himself.  


For once, Oikawa took Iwaizumi’s advice to heart and promises to fix everything.  


But, how exactly is he gonna do that when Hinata’s seat remained empty for the rest of the class on Monday.  


Oikawa thought Hinata was just late at first because maybe he was still tired from his trip back home, but when the bell rung and he still wasn’t there, that’s when Oikawa knew that fixing things was gonna be harder than he thought.  


He said a barely-polite goodbye to the professor and then went scouring the campus for Hinata and when Oikawa couldn’t find him anywhere he called Iwaizumi again before he breaks down.  


The next day, Oikawa went to Kenma and Kuroo’s apartment on the off-chance that Hinata’s there and it only took a second for Kenma to look at Oikawa’s face before saying that Hinata’s not there and slammed the door in his face.  


Oikawa sighed heavily and thought it was time to put his manipulative tendencies to good use and find out which first year dorm Hinata lives in and his room number.  


Two hours later and Oikawa’s standing in front of HInata Shouyou and Asato Hiroki’s door with his heart pounding heavily in his chest and barely-contained sanity.  


Oikawa looked at the nameplate on Hinata’s door for a moment and frowned in seeing Asato’s name and knocked on the door.  


“Just a sec!” Oikawa notes with disappointment that it wasn’t Hinata’s voice.  


Asato opened the door grinning and his face fell immediately upon seeing Oikawa. “Hinata’s not here.”  


Another door was about to be slammed in Oikawa’s face, but he stopped it just in time. “Can you tell me where he is?”  


Asato narrowed his eyes at Oikawa. “Why should I tell you?”  


Oikawa pursed his lips, but knew he absolutely can’t lose his temper on the one person that can tell him where Hinata is. “Please? I just really need to talk to him.”  


“Hmmn… I don’t know where he really is, but he said he had to take care of some stuff and he’s coming home in awhile.” Asato says.  


“Oh. Okay, is it okay if I wait for him here?” Oikawa gestures outside the room.  


“Suit yourself.” Asato really slams the door in his face this time and Oikawa just stood there fuming, but it’s not like he can do anything else but wait for Hinata to come back.  


A lot of students passed by and looked at Oikawa weirdly cause he’s just standing there waiting outside the door and Oikawa just learned to ignore them.  


After what seemed like hours, Oikawa heard someone taking the stairs slowly and he braced himself for what’s about to come.  


Hinata paused at the top of the stairs and Oikawa felt his heart stop upon seeing Hinata’s face after so many days of missing him.  


He gave Hinata a tight smile and they finally had the talk that he’s always wanted.  
~

Nothing could have prepared Oikawa for what he would learned after his intense conversation with Hinata.  


Finding out that Hinata loved him, has loved him all these years was the biggest surprise in Oikawa life. But, it turns out he’s leaving anyway because he thought Oikawa didn’t feel the same and his injury had a better chance of recovering there.  


Hinata’s going to leave. Hinata’s gonna disappear from his life again.  


Oikawa stood stock still after Hinata left in tears before the panic truly set in that Hinata’s leaving him before he chased him down the stairs.  


_Shouyou. Shouyou. Shouyou._  


That’s all Oikawa could think about before he caught up with Hinata and even begged in his knees for Hinata not to leave.  


When Hinata asked him to let go, Oikawa felt like he was gonna lose it then and there before Hinata joined him in the ground and Oikawa clung to him with everything he’s got.  
~

After some convincing from Hinata, Oikawa went back to his apartment and told Iwaizumi everything and he promptly asked Oikawa what he’s gonna do about his girlfriend.  


Oikawa called Ami right away and asked to meet up and she looked sad, but not at all surprised when Oikawa broke up with her.  


“It’s because of that orange-haired boy at your office, isn’t it?” Ami asks.  


Oikawa’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”  


“You looked really sad when he left that day.”  


Oikawa apologized for leading her on and she said she forgives him as long as he never leads on another girl again and stick with the one he really loves this time.  


They hugged before going their separate ways and Oikawa felt like a load was lifted off of his chest.  
~

Maybe all the horrible things Oikawa did came back to bite him in the ass because even when he begged on his knees, Hinata’s still gonna leave.  


Even though it did eventually lead to him finally admitting his feelings to Hinata and their relationship evolved that day although not officially.  


They officially started dating a week before the finals on a beautiful day while they were at Oikawa’s apartment.  


Oikawa finally got to kiss the boy of his dreams and it was the happiest day of his life.  


He just kept the thought of Hinata’s departure three weeks from now at the back of his mind and enjoyed every waking moment that he can spend with his boyfriend.  


After three weeks of blissfull happiness, Oikawa needed to let Hinata go because it was for the good of his future. Still, Oikawa felt like he was about to lose a limb.  


Hinata already said his goodbyes to his family and friends and only let Oikawa take him to the airport. It just made Oikawa miss him even more even though he hasn’t left yet.  


When they arrived at the airport, Oikawa felt his stomach twist uncomfortably and not even Hinata’s smile can lift up his spirits.  


His face must have looked so dejected because Hinata gave him a really tight hug for 5 minutes straight. “Hey, remember I’m coming back okay?” Hinata says right next to his ear.  


Oikawa just pulled him closer to his chest and tried to memorize the way Hinata felt and smelled. “I know.”  


“And remember that I love you very much and no one else is prettier than you in my eyes.”  


Oikawa’s eyes began to stung. “I know.”  


“Ugh! Stop going Han Solo on me!”  


Oikawa laughs and pulls away from Hinata to look at his face. “I’m sorry. I love you very much too and I’m not even gonna look at another human being for more than 5 seconds while you’re gone.”  


Hinata giggles and swats his chest. “Don’t be silly, Tooru!”  


Oikawa immediately blushes like a tomato and sighs heavily. “I’m still not used to you calling me that.”  


Hinata smiles brightly at him and Oikawa’s heart clenches that he won’t see that smile for a few months. “Take care of yourself, okay? And absolutely no volleyball!” Oikawa says.  


Hinata laughs loudly in the middle of the airport. “I never thought I’d ever hear you say that!”  


“Yeah, well… I never thought you’d ever be mine, but here we are…”  


Hinata looked at him with an intense gaze and then tackled him into a tight hug again. “I think I need to go.”  


Oikawa hugs him tighter. “Five more minutes…”  


Hinata chuckles in his ear. “Iwaizumi-san said I should never listen to you when you say that.”  


“Don’t listen to Iwa-chan. He’s a meanie.”  


Hinata did end up giving him that five minutes anyway before slowly releasing him and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll call you once I land, okay?”  


“Okay.”  


“And I promise to be online as much as I can and respond to all your messages.”  


“Okay.”  


Hinata held his face in his hands and looked him straight in the eyes. “I love you.”  


“I kno-“  


“No Han Solo!”  


Oikawa squeezed the hands that were holding his face. “I love you too.”  


Hinata tiptoed and gave him a final peck on the lips before turning away.  


When Hinata was a few steps away, Oikawa finally allowed the threatening tears to fall down his cheeks. He wiped his face furiously, but when he looked up, his heart squeezed upon seeing Hinata’s pouting face.  


HInata walked back briskly towards him with tears in his eyes as well. “We said no crying, remember?”  


“I’m sorry. I c-can’t help it Shou-chan. It’s just that I’m gonna miss you so much.” Oikawa chokes a sob and Hinata hugs him really tight again.  


“We’ll get through this. I promise I’ll come back no matter what.”  


“O-okay..”  


Hinata suddenly grabbed his face and pulled him down for a deep kiss. Oikawa doesn’t know how long the kiss lasted, but at some point he felt their tears joined together as well.  


After Hinata ended the kiss, he pressed their foreheads together and whispered. “ _Jaa ne_ , Tooru.”  


Hinata released him and went all the way inside the airport and never turned back once.  


When Hinata was no longer in his field of vision, Oikawa looked at his empty hands and tried to remember the feel of Hinata in his arms and sobbed.  


Oikawa called Iwaizumi right away. “I-Iwa-chan..”  


__

_“I’m on my way.”_  
~

Iwaizumi took him back to his apartment and Oikawa spent the entire ride crying. When they arrived at his apartment, Oikawa remembered that this is the first place where he told Hinata he loved him and promptly bursts into tears when he felt how empty it is, now that Hinata’s gone.  


Iwaizumi sighed heavily and patted him hard on the back. Just like what Oikawa did for him on their last game in high school when they lost against Karasuno. “Stop crying. He’ll land in a few hours and you’ll get to talk to him again.”  


“It’s not the same Iwa-chan! And besides his flight is ten hours, that’s just too long!” Oikawa sniffs.  


Iwaizumi pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t be such a brat Oikawa. You knew this was gonna happen. I bet if the situations are reversed, Hinata wouldn’t act like this.”  


Oikawa gasps. “Are you saying my boyfriend is more mature than me? Iwa-chan mean!”  


Iwaizumi stared at Oikawa with deadpan eyes. “Yes. Very much so. I don’t know how it happened, but your loud and jumpy boyfriend 2 years ago became more matured than you.”  


Oikawa’s sniffs got louder. “Ugh! You suck at comforting people Iwa-chan!”  


“Just sleep it off or something and set an alarm when Hinata’s flight arrives in LA.”  


Oikawa’s face lights up. “Good idea Iwa-chan! Guess you’re not that bad in comforting people after all.”  


Iwaizumi fumes. “Either you go to sleep willingly Shittykawa or I could just knock you out right now.”  


“Okay! Okay! Jeez…”  


Iwaizumi just grunts and is about to leave when Oikawa grabbed his shoulder and smiled. “Thank you, Iwa-chan!”  


Iwaizumi grins and flicks Oikawa in the forehead. “Just doing my job as your bestfriend, idiot.”  


Oikawa howled in pain, but a small grin appeared on his face when Iwaizumi closed the door.  


“Okay. Now let’s try to sleep.” Oikawa says to himself.  


Oikawa took a bath before going to bed and set an alarm for when Hinata arrives in LA. Oikawa smiled at the alien phone stand Hinata gave him before lying on the bed and closed his eyes.  


After 10 minutes and sleep still won’t come to him, Oikawa gave up and paced in his living room. He looked at his phone and knew that he still won’t get that phone call no matter how much he stared at it and rummaged around his X files dvd and decided to have a marathon while waiting.  


Excep that sleep is a traitor and Oikawa fell asleep three hours later and almost had a heart attack when his phone rang. Not to mention it was his special ringtone assigned for Hinata.  


Oikawa tripped before he reached his phone and answered it right away.  


“Hello? Shou-chan?”  


_“Hey Tooru, I just landed in LA. Sorry I couldn’t call right away, I took a long time at the immigration.”_  


“No, it’s okay. How about you? How was your flight?”  


_“It was fine. Hey Tooru…”_  


“Yes?”  


_“I’m sorry, I didn’t turn back again earlier… I just think I won’t be able to leave if I looked at your face again…”_  


Oikawa heard sniffling in the background and his heart ached in how much he misses his boyfriend already. “It’s okay Shou-chan… to be honest, maybe I wouldn’t have let you go if you turned around one more time.”  


HInata gave a small laugh and became silent for a bit. _“…I miss you.”_  


Silent tears fell down Oikawa’s face. “I miss you too.”  


_“Don’t worry. It’ll be over before we know it.”_  


“Yeah… one day I’ll wake up and you’ll be in my arms again.”  
~

The first few days were really hard, but then they got used to a routine. Tokyo time is sixteen hours advanced than LA, so Hinata calls in Skype when it’s lunchbreak for Oikawa and nighttime at Hinata.  


They were making it work somehow. Oikawa focused on his classes and volleyball and Hinata was starting to make progress in his recovery program while taking online classes. Things were going smooth, until one day Hinata told him he made a friend.  


_“I’m so happy I have a friend now Tooru! I just couldn’t talk much to the other guys because my English sucks, but ever since I found out In Ho can speak Japanese, even though it’s not that good, at least I can finally talk to someone my age here.”_  


Oikawa had a strained smile fixed on his face while looking at the overjoyed face of his boyfriend on his laptop. “You mentioned his name is _In Ho_ , is he Korean?”  


_“Yes! He’s Korean.”_  


Oikawa’s face was hurting, but he still kept his smile on. “So, that’s great and everything, so is he pretty? I’ve seen those Korean idols and they’re really _really_ pretty Shou-chan.”  


Hinata frowned. _“Huh? He’s okay I guess.”_  


_Okay can mean a number of things for Shou-chan._ Oikawa thought miserably.  


Oikawa cleared his throat. “I have to go Shou-chan, but always remember that your super amazing and handsome boyfriend loves you very much, okay?”  


Hinata frowned deeper. _“Okay… I love you too.”_  


“As long you remember that my love, goodbye now!”  


Hinata looks thoroughly confused on the screen. _“Bye-bye…”_  


Oikawa ended the call and sighed heavily when he shut his laptop.  


That night, Oikawa went straight to Kenma and Kuroo’s apartment and knocked harshly on their door. Kenma answered the door frowning.  


“We have a problem.” Oikawa starts saying and goes inside the apartment without the invitation.  


“Okay…” Kenma says with a bored expression.  


“It’s about this _In Ho_ guy, Ken-chan.”  


Kenma turned his head sharply upon hearing the name. “So, Shouyou told him about you too?”  


Oikawa nodded. “You know what this means, right?”  


“I think I do.” Kenma replies.  


“He’s gonna replace me as Shou-chan’s boyfriend.”  


“He’s gonna replace me as Shouyou’s bestfriend.”  


They both said at the same time and Oikawa didn’t know that there was another person in the room, until he heard Kuroo laughing really loud and saw him rolling on the floor.  


Kuroo wiped tears from his eyes from laughing too much. “Oh my god! If only Shrimpy knew how much he has you guys wrapped around his finger!”  


Kenma rolled his eyes while Oikawa grimaced.  


“So, what do we do?” Oikawa asks.  


“We can get Asato to find dirt on him.” Kenma says with all the seriousness Oikawa never knew he could possess.  


Oikawa’s face soured upon hearing Asato’s name. “Isn’t there anyone else?”  


“He’s the best there is.” Kenma replies.  


Oikawa sighs disappointingly. “Fine. Anything for Shou-chan!”  


When they talked to Asato, he had a smug expression on his face, now that Oikawa’s asking him for a favor. “Well, well, well, what’s in it for me?”  


Kenma whispered something in Asato’s ear and his face turned pale in a second. “Sheesh, no need to threaten a man’s life. I’ll do what you request Kenma-sama.”  


After a few days Asato finally got back to them. “I found nothing. The guy’s clean.”  


Oikawa narrows his eyes at him. “You are useless!”  


“And what did you? Huh? Oh Mr. Grand King!” Asato bites back.  


Oikawa crunched his knuckles. It’s time he takes things in his own hands.  


So when he talked to Hinata the next day, Oikawa already had the perfect plan in his head. He can guarantee it’s fool-proof and has a 99.9% of success.  


“So, Shou-chan, Kenma and I were talking last night and he confided in me that he’s sort of getting jealous that you’re spending so much time with this _In Ho_ and he’s worried that you’ll replace him as your bestfriend in the future..”  


A huge grin formed slowly on Hinata’s face. _“You know… Kenma said the exact same thing about you last night.”_  


“What?!” _That devious kitten._  


Hinata laughs. _“Oh my god! Are you jealous Tooru?”_  


“N-no! Why would I be jealous Shou-chan? Don’t be be silly! Hahahahaha.” Oikawa lies.  


Hinata was smiling at first then his face became serious. _“You know I would never replace you right? Tooru? I would never do that to you and Kenma…”_  


“I know… I’m sorry, Shou-chan. We’re just jealous that he gets to see you everyday and spend time with you…” Oikawa pouts while apologizing.  


Hinata sighs then looks at Oikawa fondly. _“You guys are so silly! Even when I’m spending time with my friends here, you’re still the one on my mind.”_  


Oikawa’s eyes began to water. “Iwa-chan was right! You’re more matured than me!”  


Hinata chuckles. _“You know what? I think he’s actually right.”_  


“Shou-chan mean!”  


_“Just trust me, okay Tooru? You’re the one that I love and I think about coming home to you everyday.”_ Hinata says.  


Oikawa sniffs. “Okay, Shou-chan. I love you too and I’ll remember that all the time now.”  


Hinata’s smile was enough to calm Oikawa’s troubled heart on any day.  
~

Months fly by and they were finally both fully adjusted in this long distance thing. The university qualifiers started around and there are times when they couldn’t even have their daily video call on skype, in which case they’ve taken to messaging each other on random times of the day.  


Oikawa’s girlfriends in the past have broken up with him because he was too busy with volleyball, but Hinata’s just plain wonderful and supports him all the way.  


Maybe Hinata’s brief time on their team did change them because they were somehow able to win easily in the qualifiers. Whether they play with him or against him, somehow players always come out more determined and more hungry to win.  


Maybe that’s why they’re about to finally play in the championships in 2 days. Even if it’s against Ushijima’s team once again.  


“I’m so nervous Shou-chan. What if all our effort goes to waste? What if genius beats hardwork again?” Oikawa tells Hinata during a panic-induced skype-call. Evident with Hinata’s bed head cause it’s only 2am on LA time.  


Hinata rubbed his eyes. _“Oh come on, Tooru! Always remember that the team with the six stronger players is gonna win! That’s why we won before.”_  


“Easy for you to say! Your team had you and Kageyama!” Oikawa argues. “And where did you hear that saying by the way?”  


Hinata scratched his head. _“Oh. I heard it from Kageyama who heard it from Iwaizumi-san while he was lecturing you cause you were throwing a tantrum like a child.”_  


“What?!!! I was not acting like a child! Those are all lies Shou-chan!”  


HInata just smiles at Oikawa. _“Just remember what Iwaizumi-san said, okay? You once told me that I should believe in myself because you believe in me. Now, I’m asking you to do the same Tooru. Because I believe that you can win and so much more…”_  


Oikawa looks at Hinata with an intense gaze. “I love you so much.”  


Hinata smiles at him, but then it falters. _“Hey, I was gonna tell you this later, but you might not be able to reach me throughout the day because we’re going on a retreat tomorrow and there are no phones allowed. So… I just want to say goodluck in advance.”_  


“Oh.” Oikawa’s disappointed that he won’t get to talk to Hinata before the game, but he can’t just depend the state of his mood on Hinata all the time too. “It’s okay. Your words earlier already did wonders to my spirit.”  


_“Gan batte, Tooru!”_ Hinata’s bright smile was worth more than a hundred trophies.  
~

Minutes before the game started, Oikawa tried to contact Hinata again, just in case he already got back from the retreat. He’s not nervous anymore, but it would be nice to hear Hinata’s voice before he battles Ushijima.  


He tried calling twice, but Hinata still didn’t answer. There was a split-second when Oikawa feared that maybe Hinata was with In Ho and disregarded it right away.  


_I trust Shouyou._ Oikawa thought before he put his phone in his bag and stands on the court.  


Their team chose to serve first and of course they went with Oikawa. He thought about how much their team wanted this from the start and gave it everything he got.  


Oikawa got the service ace and their team celebrated by messing up his hair. Normally, he would have thrown a fit, but it’s not like his boyfriend’s watching. While he was getting ready to serve again, he saw a very flashy sign that only someone still in Highschool can make, with the words _‘Gan batte Tooru!’_ and got a little disappointed when he saw a boy wearing a cap was holding it.  


_Oh well. The more fans the merrier._ Oikawa thought before getting another service ace.  
~

They won.  


Oikawa finally beat Ushijima and he would have thought he was just dreaming until Takamatsu slapped him on the face. “You’re not dreaming dude! This is real! We really won!”  


Tears started to sting Oikawa’s eyes and then he felt Kuroo grab his shoulder. “This must be the happiest day of your life, huh?”  


Oikawa laughs and wiped his tears. “Yeah… Too bad Shou-chan’s not here and it would have been perfect.”  


Kuroo smirks at him and then looks at the stands. Oikawa’s heart started to pound like crazy and when he looked at the direction where Kuroo was looking, his heart stopped when he saw the boy holding the flashy sign earlier had a bit of orange hair peeking from his cap.  


Oikawa practically ran in front of the stands. “Shou-chan?”  


The boy slowly lowered the sign and Hinata Shouyou in the flesh, grins widely at him.  


Oikawa gasps loudly and felt like something was squeezing his heart. “W-what are you doing here?!”  


“To cheer for you of course!” Hinata declares jovially.  


“Wha – “ Oikawa stopped when he saw that Kenma and Asato were actually sitting beside Hinata and berates himself for not noticing earlier. “How long have you been here?!”  


“Since the start of the game really, good thing my flight wasn’t delayed!”  


Oikawa just gapes at his boyfriend while he tries to think why he didn’t notice Hinata earlier and his eyes suddenly focused on the cap Hinata was wearing. He would have picked out Hinata’s orange-flaming hair among a thousand people.  


“Why did you have to wear that stupid cap?!”  


Hinata’s jaw drops. “Really, Tooru? I came all the way from America to surprise you and this is the thanks I ge – “  


Oikawa didn’t let Hinata finish that sentence when he practically climbed the bleachers and kissed Hinata in front of a thousand people that are watching.  


To be honest he didn’t really care. He just wanted to kiss his boyfriend that he missed so much.  


Most of the girls were screaming. Some out of disappointment and some who found it too cute. Meanwhile, the volleyball team were all passing out money on each other. Some looked happy, some were glaring at the kissing couple while taking the money out of their wallets.  


Hinata broke out of the kiss and whispered something in Oikawa’s ear. “I know you already have that huge trophy, but I have another prize for you.”  


Oikawa felt goosebumps in his entire body. “I mean I would love to Shou-chan, but aren’t you a little jetlagged to do _that_?”  


Hinata frowns. “Huh? What are you talking about?”  


Oikawa’s face turned crimson. “Nevermind. What prize were you gonna give me?”  


“I’m here for good.” Hinata says while smiling widely.  


Oikawa blinked rapidly. “What?! Are you serious?! I thought the program was supposed to last for a year!”  


“I made a pretty fast recovery and I _really_ tried hard not to play volleyball, so my uncle said I could continue the therapy here in japan, by visiting once a week on their recommended rehabilitation center.” Hinata pinched both of Oikawa’s cheeks. “And besides I’m happier here anyway… still no volleyball for another six months though.”  


Oikawa’s eyes welled up with tears and pulled Hinata to his chest. “I can’t believe this. My life is perfect now Shou-chan…”  


Hinata hugs him tighter. “Me too.”  
~

After six months, Hinata was finally cleared to play volleyball again and Hinata’s trip overseas really did pay off because Oikawa was able to play with him on his final tournament in university.  


Not surpringly, they won the championship again with Oikawa as the captain and Hinata, now on their team and he couldn’t think of a better way to end his final year before he graduates.  


Hinata did end up playing in the Olympics with Kageyama and Ushijima while Oikawa moved on with the pros. And even though he wasn’t recruited to play with them, Oikawa was more than happy to cheer for his boyfriend and his country on the side.  


After Hinata graduated and was also about to play with the pros, Oikawa officially asked Hinata to move in with him. Even though Hinata already spends most of his time in Oikawa’s apartment. He didn’t make it easy as well. Oikawa made Hinata go on a scavenger hunt around their favorite places and the last clue was at Oikawa’s apartment with a big sign asking Hinata to move in with him.  


Hinata got mad at first because the clues were too hard to find, evident with some leaves found on Hinata’s hair (Maybe because Oikawa put some of the clues too high to reach just for fun). He almost said no and Oikawa got really scared for a second that he may have screwed things up, until Hinata finally relented after seeing the tears on Oikawa’s eyes and said of course he’s gonna say yes since he practically spends all his time there anyway.  


Sometimes it makes Oikawa’s head spin because of how good his life is, playing the sport that he loves professionally and living with the love of his life whose stamina is insatiable in bed. And it scares him sometimes, because what if he wakes up one day and it’s all just a dream? But everytime the sun rises, Oikawa sees Hinata beside him and it’s more than enough to quell his fears.  


Things are good, but things aren’t perfect. Sometimes they fight on the smallest of things, like on what kind of detergent to use and there are some particularly bad days where Oikawa’s insecurity gets the best of him and he questions Hinata, why he stays with him when he could do so much better than Oikawa.  


It gets bad enough that Hinata gets out of the house and Oikawa receives a call from Iwaizumi of all people, asking why he’s making his boyfriend cry. Oikawa feels guilty all at once and goes to fetch Hinata and beg for forgiveness, but not without Iwaizumi calling him an idiot in so many different ways.  


When Oikawa asked Hinata in the car why he went to Iwaizumi and not his friends, Hinata’s answer fueled his decision. “Because Iwaizumi-san is the person who understands you the most and one day, I hope that person will be me too.”  


Oikawa felt like he fell in love again with Hinata after that and he decided that it doesn’t matter if he didn’t deserve Hinata because he’s never going to let him go no matter what. He’s just gonna have to work on himself and be the kind of man that Hinata deserves.  


After five years of living together and is known as one of the strongest couple by the people around them, Oikawa thought it was time.  


He decided to spruce the place up and even laid rose petals on the floor and lit up candles all around. They’ve enjoyed the good years and survived the bitter ones of their relationship and Oikawa has no doubt that he wants to wake up and see Hinata’s face everyday for the rest of his life. Now, all he needs is to grab the tiny box hidden in the farthest corner of his drawer.  


After a few minutes and right on the dot, Hinata opened the door to their apartment and greeted Oikawa with his bright and beautiful smile that never fails to make Oikawa’s heart skip a beat.  


“I’m back!”  


Oikawa smiles as Hinata slowly took in the changes in their living room and Oikawa couldn’t wait to start this new chapter in their lives.  


“Welcome home.”  


_~The End~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone else asks: HINATA SAID YES!!!
> 
> I would just like to thank everyone who joined me in this rollercoaster ride from the beginning, those who joined me in the middle and if you're just starting to read it now, thank you so much!!!
> 
> I had so much fun writing this and the kudos and comments just kept inspiring me more. This story was really close to my heart and I'm kinda sad that it's ending.
> 
> Will probably take a break from writing for awhile, so I can try to socialize. (HAHA, wtf am I kidding? Imma binge read fanfics.)
> 
> Again, thank you so much and I hoped you enjoyed reading this. Take care. ( ˘ ³˘)♥


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